The Elmhurst Park District Dynamites Boys Gymnastics Team dominated at last week’s National AAU Gymnastics Meet at the Chula Vista Convention Center in Wisconsin Dells, bringing home 14 gold medals, 13 silver medals, and 18 bronze medals. 

The meet featured more than 1,000 competitors, and events were divided by age group. The team, which was just recently formed in 2010, boasted several outstanding individual performances:

• Charlie Cripe won the all-around by more than three points, and earned seven gold medals, the most a gymnast can win. Cripe was the 2012 AAU National Champion on floor, pommel, rings, vault, parallel bars, H-Bar and all-around. 
• Erik Barishman took second place on vault, and third place on floor, pommel, parallel bars, horizontal bar and all-around. 
• Nathan Lee earned second on pommel, rings, parallel bars and all-around, and third place on floor. 
• Dominic Milazzo was the 2012 AAU National Champion on floor, and took third place on vault. 
• Kevin Homan was the 2012 AAU National Champion on parallel bars and horizontal bar, and took second place on floor and all-around. 
• Jacob Anderson took second place on pommel and vault, and earned third place on rings, horizontal bar and all-around.
• John Gill took second place on rings and horizontal bar, and third place on pommel and vault. 
• Jacob Miller was the 2012 AAU National Champion on rings and vault, and placed second on parallel bars.  Miller also took third place on floor. 
• Sean O’Hara was the 2012 AAU National Champion on floor and rings, and third place on all-around. 
• Christian Bortolotti took second place on floor, and third on pommel, rings, horizontal bar and all-around.

The high scores were no accident. The team, composed of 10 second- through-eighth grade boys, has worked hard all year, running hills and cross-training to increase endurance for their six events: floor, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar.

The team practices at the Wagner Gymnastics Center in Elmhurst three times a week, and is led by coaches Garrett Acker, Kyle Carmona, Christian Carmona, and Nikko Winstead. 

Tryouts for the 2012-2013 competitive team are 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 25, at the Wagner Community Center. For more information on the Boys Gymnastics Team or other gymnastics programs, call the Wagner Community Center at (630) 993-8901.