Hallie Mossett on a journey to the top
Young gymnast hopes to make the Olympic team
Hallie Mossett, 16, began her gymnastic career at only 5 years old when she attended a summer camp with a friend from school. It was supposed to be for fun, but Hallie fell in love with gymnastics that summer.
By the fall, she had enrolled at All Olympia Gymnastics Academy and was well on her way to the top.
In 2003, at only 8 years old, the Los Angeles native who now attends Mar Vista High School, won the all-around title in every competition in which she competed. She swept the gold medals at the Level 5 Sectionals (Levels 1-3 are beginners. At level 4, gymnasts are eligible for competition).
At the Level 5 State Championships, she won gold medals on every event except vault. Hallie repeated similar results in 2004 as a level 6. At the Level 6 Sectionals, she swept the gold medals on everything, including the all-around.
This level of success continued as Hallie breezed through levels and became a force at competitions, and by 2007 she competed at the highest level, a 10 and an international elite gymnast.
In 2009, Mossett made the Junior USA Team, when in her first meet she helped the USA team to win a gold medal ahead of Japan.
Hallie is currently a senior international elite, and a member of the Senior U.S. National Gymnastics team and has high hopes of becoming a member of a world championship and Olympic team.
With her skills and dedication, there isn’t much doubt she will accomplish her goals.
To stay updated on Hallie and her accomplishments, visit her website at www.halliemossett.com
Carlton Chester “Cookie” Gilchrist, one of the hardest charging fullbacks ever in pro football, died of cancer Monday at age 75. Gilchrist was considered one of the first marquee players of the fledgling American Football League, and his punishing running style was often compared with that of Jim Brown’s of the National Football League.
Ernest Davis, born Dec. 14, 1939, became the first African American athlete to win the Heisman Trophy. The running back played at Syracuse University before being drafted by the Washington Redskins. He also was declared an All-American athlete in 1960 and in 1961, the same year he won the most prestigious title for an American collegiate athlete.
On Nov. 22, 1986, world-class bowler, George Branham III became the first African American to win a PBA (Professional Bowlers Association) title.
Born Nov. 21, 1962 in Detroit, Mich., Branham started bowling at the tender age of six, when his father George Branham II, an amateur league bowler, introduced him to the sport that would later bring him success.
The Monday night football game this week was a lesson in life and redemption. I only saw the first half, but that was enough. I got so excited about the performance of Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback, Michael Vick, that I shelved my intended column topic for this week and started over.
Born in Jackson, Miss., and raised in Chicago, Lou developed a passion for competing. He was an intense competitor, and in his younger years, had an interest in baseball.
According to long-time friend and teammate, Norman Leche, both he and Lou moved to Los Angeles in 1955 to play in the Negro Baseball Leagues and the California Stockton Baseball League. He as a versatile athlete, playing short-stop, pitcher and a host of other positions. Among the teams he played for was the Indiana Clowns.
