June 4, 2009

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Incoming freshman Caitlyn Ciokajlo (pronounced Cha-ky-lo) of Brooklyn, Mich., earned the Level 10 beam title in the Senior B division at the 2009 Junior Olympic national meet held in May. Bethany Larimer, another incoming freshman for the Wildcats, also competed at the meet finishing tied for 27th place out of 56 competitors in the Senior C division.

Ciokajlo finished the national meet third all-around in her division, just .2 points away from first place. She had two other top-10 finishes, tying for sixth on vault and tying for fifth on the floor exercise. The Michigan native came in a tie for 19th on the uneven bars.

The future Wildcat had earned a fourth place finish at the 2009 regional competition which gave her the ticket to J.O.’s in Seattle, Wash. At the 2009 Level 10 State competition Ciokajlo recorded a first place finish on the uneven bars as well as a earning second place on the floor exercise.

Larimer’s best event at the national meet was the vault notching a top-20 finish, tying for 14th in her division. The Carrollton, Texas, native was a national qualifier in 2007, medaling on the uneven bars. She was also a national qualifier in 2005 and 2006.

The University of Kentucky gymnastics team resumes competition in January 2010. This year the Cats will be hosting five other schools during the 2010 NCAA Region Championship meet in March.