m . mu mot > (MIDNICU‘. -Weducsdly, luly as 2m: Buck- eye on the future 0 , O O O O I Revolutions Stefame Merkle verbally commits to Ohm State University minim/m Er." ified for the national champi~ ~ ., . I, ./ ‘ 3 y ‘ “cw“; â€a â€more,“ , '- amt-"gm , . 3 A ~¢i«;1}§€:‘u§§'_m “Mufï¬n“ Staff _ onship meet for the ï¬rst time since _. - . . ~ ' ...1;1.:-â€a;§§ wtfyiii‘tsé‘tiiwï¬i? is??? 32!“ 1990 and ï¬nished in the top to, ‘ - i " i “L â€lei; QM ' ï¬i’emtw‘“ *' ' gift t was the dream -â€" making the which earned head coach Carey ’ y . f†. vs“ it?†i "' “ ' a) ' gt £73“: Ittanadian Olympic team and Fagatt a national coach-ofâ€"theâ€" ‘ r ' “if a attending an NCAA women's year award after a pair of Big l0 ' , in wig“ gymnastics program. and Central Region nominations a ,i; > “ï¬wï¬l That was at the top of the list of Merkle said part of the charm of 3? “i »' “it“ my??? i. lifetime accomplishments for Ohio State is the bond between , " it??? 13? l’etersburg native Stefanie Merkle. Fagan and assistant coaches Bill : â€Hi: Ticking off one of those goals Lorenz and Meredith Yonushonis. , a†fsgtwltgw, before Grade ll will give Merkle which reminds her of the coaching ' ‘ ‘ -’ A“ i work“ something to celebrate this sum- staff at Revolution. where she has i , rlâ€'f§.§;,; if; met. spent the last seven years of her “3 ' , z"'fg“;',Wzt 1,5. After falling short of a Summer competitive gymnastics life. “33? iéï¬egf Olympic berth. the lG-year-old "They remind me of Aaron and ~ “WSW Revolution Gymnastics standout Aug (Brokenshireit' Merkle said. , z ‘ ï¬ï¬péf: gave her verbal commitment to "They have a close bond â€"â€" Mered- †b "i it aï¬tsï¬ Ohio State University (or the 2014- ith. Carey and Bill â€" and they are it. 9,» ‘W f 3?flg1.,,‘,,_5mg 15 season while accepting a full- really close together. I think Carey MW†" > a "' ride scholarship to compete on the and Bill have been working togeth- , f’ †" Buckeyes’ varsity gymnastics team. er for nine years now, so they have i , Merkle, an honour roll student a great relationship with each n at Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate other. ; Institute. was also considering “And they'said they would be 73134; offers from Michigan State Univer- there for at least another four â€i sit); the University of Iowa and the years. so I will have them when l'm , ht. University of Arimna, but the mas» there." sit-e Columbus campus of Ohio Accepting a full-ride scholar- State - with its jaw-dropping Sta» ship to one of the largest universi- diums and boisterous Buckeye ties in the United States is a sigh of atmosphere combined with the relieffor the floor specialist. m“ s . right academic offeringsâ€"had the Two years ago, Merkle was “a.†7 , edge. recovering from a damaged liga- ï¬e“ ‘ at; . "lt was deï¬nitely a tough deci- ment in her right elbow. an injury » ‘ " a? A, sit)", hecauw there are so many that cost her aspot on the national "g ‘ . good schools around here." said junior team and had her doubting * . . Merkle. who plans to study animal the future ‘ _ ’“ sciences “The main focus was the By the spring of 20] 1. she was ‘ 7" coaching A because you want to back in action, competing on the , ,. . have great coaches for the entire national and international stage. .“ a" four years â€"â€" and then the proxjmt including a fifth-place ï¬nish on ., " ty to Canada and the coursesl floor during the 20“ Elite Gym , wanted to take. Massilia event in France. . it. 3" “it was like. ‘(lh God. I could go This year, Merkle attended her 3, ' to any of thew school-sf It's amaz» ï¬rst World (Sup meet in Ghent. Bel- , ‘ mg A even just getting a scholar» gium. and in May was fourth on , ship is amazing floor and eighth overall in the sen- “But l'm deï¬nitely happy going tor-AA national championship in Ohio State." event. She was invited to the ï¬nal Once she is able to sign on in her Grade t2 year, Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate student Stefanie Merkle will Although Merkle still has to put Olympic selection camp, but attend Ohio State (3an 0" l WWW†WNW“ scholarship. her commitment in writing during declined on short notice as ï¬ve W‘mmw her tirade l2 year. her plan is to other athletes â€"â€" including Cam~ join a women's artistic gymnastics bridge native Victoria Moors. "i wasn't quite prepared accomplishment for me this year, l year. I don't think there was any program on the rise in the NCAA Merkle's Massilia Cup teammate » enough. but to at least be invited would say. thing more I could have. done . . . l ranks. earned a spot on the Canadian to that was a great experience." “There were a lot of great gym- think l did everything i could have last season, the Buckeyes qual- Olympic team. Merkle said. “That was a great nasts and it was a strong ï¬eld this done to make the team." S I , 1 "fl . 3 ) August 20th - 24th L/\U[\l \ m GOLDEN HAWKS . "' fl . August 2/ iii - 3 1 st