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 You always read about how talented so-and-so is, and how far they're going to go
in the sport of gymnastics, but few have the potential as Kassi Price. Kassi, who
was born on August 2, 1989, in Plantation, Florida, has already accomplished so
much - and most of it was before she was even 12 years old!
When
she was 9, she made the Junior Olympic National Team, a record for the youngest
person ever. Not to mention, she won the 2000 J.O. National Championships all
around, bars, and floor title and a bronze on beam!
Kassi was an
elite at the age of 11, and was the youngest competitor at the 2001 U.S.
Classic, where she placed 8th on floor, 4th on vault, and 18th in the all
around. She qualified to the 2001 U.S. National Championships in Philadelphia,
and made the Junior National Team after tying with Maria Scaffidi for 16th place
in the all around.
Shortly after, Kassi attended a training camp
in November and was selected to compete in her first international event. She
and Melanie Sinclair were added to the 2001 Canberra Cup roster, but the day
before Kassi was scheduled to leave, she broke her right leg.
In
2002, she beat some of the nation's most experienced gymnasts at the Podium Meet
by placing 7th in the all-around. She was given yet another international
assignment, the Spring Cup in Burlington, Canada, where she was 2nd all-around,
2nd on vault, and 1st with the USA team (Sarah Curtis, Ashley Miles, Liz Tricase).
 At the 2002 American Classic she was third in the all-around,
2nd on vault, and competed again on day two in a special team competition
combining the top junior and senior gymnasts. Her team, "Team 2004" was made of
Terin Humphrey, Jalynne Dantzscher, Annia Hatch, and Chellsie Memmel. They
placed third and Kassi placed fifth in the all-around!
Kassi
would compete internationally two more times before the year was over - the USA
vs. Belgium Camp and the Puerto Rico Gymnastics Cup. At the USA/Belgium camp,
the USA (Katie Kivisto, Brittney Koncak, Jalynne Dantzscher, Allyse Ishino, and
Tabitha Yim) easily defeated the Belgians and Kassi placed fourth in the
all-around and won vault!
Then Katie and Brittney traveled
with
Kassi to Puerto Rico. Brittney was injured during practice but Kassi and Katie
won the team competition and finished with the gold and bronze medals
respectively! In event finals she got second on both beam and floor and fourth
on bars.
In July she pulled out of the U.S. Classic due to a
slight knee injury but was back in shape for Nationals in Cleveland. Despite
mistakes she still qualified for her 2nd National Team!
2003 has
started off very similar to 2002. Kassi has already competed in the USA/Japan
camp where the USA (Nastia Liukin, Alicia Sacramone, Annie Fogerty, Courtney
McCool, Ashley Priess, Geralen Stack-Eaton, and Natalie Ratcliff) was first and
Kassi was 2nd in the all-around. She also took home a gold on vault, silver on
beam, was 4th on bars, and 6th on floor.
At the Podium Meet in
Fairfax, VA, Kassi was 5th in the all-around for juniors and with both age
groups combined she was an awesome 12th! Once again she easily qualified to
Nationals (her 3rd) in Milwaukee by doing well at the American Classic. This
time in Burlington, Massachusetts, Kassi was fourth in the all-around and third on vault
and bars. At her third U.S. Nationals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Kassi bettered
her all-around position to 9th and placed 6th on vault!
 Strong performances at camp earned her another trip to the
USA/Japan camp in 2004, where she won the all-around and a medal on every event!
Her team, which consisted of Shavahn Church, Corey Hartung, Ashley Priess, Grace
Taylor, and Shayla Worley easily won first place! Following that successful
meet, Orlando Metro competed in a trio of level 10/open meets and Kassi took
first place in all three: Sand Dollar Invitational, Region 5 vs. Region 8, and
the IGI Chicago Style! She was also part of the Pacific Alliance Championships
training squad.
Following two successful Classic meets,
Kassi once again was qualified to the U.S. Nationals!
Held in Nashville, TN, this would be her fourth and final Junior Nationals!
Kassi had one of her best meets ever, finishing fifth in the all-around and in
the top 8 on all four events! Because of these great results, she was picked for
three international meets: Olympiada Elite (2nd V, 1st UB), Jr. PanAmerican Games (1st AA,
1st V, 2nd FX), and the prestigious Chunichi Cup (5th AA).
In her first year as a senior international
elite, Kassi performed very well at every competition she entered. Counting very
few falls or mistakes throughout her routines all year, she was first invited to
compete on the "European Tour," where many members of the National
Team competed in dual meets in Switzerland and Great Britain. After placing in
the top five at both the U.S. Classic and the U.S. National Championships in
Indianapolis, Indiana, Kassi was invited to the World Team Selection Camp!
Although she didn't make the four-gymnast team, she did compete at the Trophee
Massilia in Marseille, France - where she won five medals, including all-around
gold! There she competed against many Olympians, including gold medallist Emilie
Lepennec.
2006 got
off to an exciting start for Kassi! In January she announced her decision to
compete for the University of Alabama for her college career! In March she
returned to France for the French International World Cup competition, where she
qualified to all three of the finals that she competed for. She also earned a
bronze medal on vault and a silver medal on bars. After her strong showing
there, Kassi was selected to compete in the Moscow Stars World Cup in Russia but
decided not to go. Kassi made the decision to attend Alabama in the fall instead
of waiting until the fall of 2008. She closed out her elite career at her sixth
consecutive National Championships. She competed very well in St. Paul,
Minnesota, and earned bronze medals on vault and bars! She also placed eighth in
the all around and made her sixth National Team. Now she is a busy college
student-athlete in Tusacloosa! ROLL TIDE, ROLL!
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