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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, March 20, 2009

Vercruyssen springs to top in trampoline

 •  Lavaman Keauhou triathlon set Sept. 13

Advertiser Staff

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser
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Achievements by athletes in Hawai'i. Photo/story submissions to totalrec@HonoluluAdvertiser.com

Honolulu's Nani Vercruyssen, 17, won the senior elite women's trampoline in the Winter Classic at the U.S. Olympic training site in Birmingham, Ala.

Vercruyssen, ranked No. 1 among senior women (18 and older), won with a career-best 98.50 points at the meet earlier this month. Alaina Williams of Amarillo, Texas finished second and Hayley Butcher of St. John, Ind. placed third.

Annika Northrop, 11, of Kailua, finished 23rd in the women's junior elite division with 49.70 points. Northrop was a national champion in the 10-under group before advancing to junior elite, where some of the competition included women in their 20s.

The Winter Classic was the first of two required qualifying competitions for the U.S. national championships for junior and senior elite athletes at Dallas in August.

Vercruyssen and Northrop will be part of the Hawai'i Trampoline Championships, March 26 to 29 at the Hawai'i Academy.

WRESTLING

CHUN, LEE WITH U.S. AT WOMEN'S WORLD CUP

Hawai'i's Clarissa Chun, a world wrestling champion and 2008 Olympian, will be part of a U.S. team that will participate in the Women's World Cup tomorrow and Sunday in Taiyuan, China.

Chun, a Roosevelt High alum, will be joined by Stephany Lee, a Moanalua High alum, on the five-member team. Chun will wrestle at 48 kilograms (105.5 pounds), while Lee will compete at 72 kilograms (158.5 pounds). Other members of the U.S. team are Helen Maroulis of Rockville, Md., and Deanna Rix of and Elena Pirozkhova, both of Colorado Springs, Colo.

Other teams in the meet are Japan, China, Canada, Russia, Mongolia, Ukraine and Belarus. Chun will compete in her first meet since winning a world title last October in Japan.

FOOTBALL

CORREA TO ATTEND NFL YOUTH SUMMIT

Waimea, Hawai'i's Pua Correa has been selected by USA Football to attend the NFL Youth Summit in Canton, Ohio, July 29 and 30.

USA Football is the sport's national governing body on youth and amateur levels. The summit will discuss such topics as character development, inspiration, hydration and fitness, including an anti-steroid education program.

Correa is the treasurer and commissioner of Big Island Pop Warner, which is composed of more than 3,000 youth football players from throughout the island.

"I am so excited in attending and representing Hawai'i in this upcoming NFL Youth Summit," Correa said in a press release. "I am looking forward to learning more, updating our information, meeting other organizations' leaders and learning their mana'o on what it takes to assist Hawai'i and make its football programs grow effectively and positively."

The NFL Youth Summit, funded by the NFL and NFL Players Association, assembles approximately 200 youth and high school coaches from the 50 states and Washington, D.C., along with grassroots football leaders, including former NFL players now coaching at the high school level.

Correa was one of 14 local youth football leaders who attended USA Football's Hawai'i State Leadership Forum at McKinley High on Feb. 7.