The girls from Miyagi Gymnastics Academy in Auburn continued the 2009 compulsory season with another bang last weekend.

The Auburn Gymnastics Center team also rallied to qualify more gymnasts to the NorCal zone and state championships.

Local gymnasts competed at the River City Classic in Elk Grove Saturday and Sunday.

Miyagi gymnasts earned enough medals to claim third place in the team competition. Level 4 gymnasts Thea Economou, Courtney Cederloff and Annabelle Johnson (older division), and Hannah Bean, Holly Hansen, Alexis Vasquez and Ashley Wood (younger division) had impressive showings.

Economou advanced to the winner’s podium in vault, bars, beam and floor routine. She placed second in the all-around.

Courtney Cederloff earned four medals, including a fourth-place finish (9.0 on the vault). Annabelle Johnson rounded out the older division by bringing home medals in both the beam and all-around.

In the younger division, Bean and Hansen both medalled on the bars and the all-around competition.

Vasquez’s sixth-place all-around finish was in part due to her outstanding performance on the beam. Wood, the youngest team member, medalled in vault, bars and the all-around. Megan Collins and Stephanie Knoble led the level 5 effort on Saturday.

The general public is invited to see the Miyagi girls in action at the Gold Country Classic on Oct. 10 at Miyagi Gymnastics. The tumbling, flips, twirls and jumps will begin at 8 a.m.

Auburn Gymnastics Center took more than 15 girls to the River City Classic last weekend, where the team encountered its toughest competition this season.

The gymnasts, who began competition in August, are working hard to get the required scores at local meets in an effort to qualify to attend their zone and state championship meets. The level 4 girls are working to score a minimum 34.5 all-around score to attend the state championships, while the level 5 and 6 girls are striving to qualify for the zone championships by earning as minimum of 31.0.

Having missed the season opener, it was level 4 Alyson Osborn’s first meet and she qualified to her state meet with a second place finish on vault and an all-around score of 34.525.

Fellow level 4 gymnast Madison Candler also qualified with a win on vault and a second place all-around finish (35.35). Madelyn Schildmeyer was just short of the qualifying score but performed stellar routines and walked away with a win on vault (9.375).

In level 6, Devin VanBurkleo (32.2) and Janna Woodward (33.2) qualified and in the level 6 middle Elizabeth Jordan also qualified with a 34.375.

The level 4 gymnasts workout nearly six hours a week, while the level five and six gymnasts train nine to 12 hours a week.