Jana Reardon (USA)
1988 US Classic (junior division): 7th AA
1988 Junior US National Championships: 23rd AA
1989 Parkettes Invitational: 4th V, 3rd B, 6th FX
1989 American Classic (junior division): 2nd AA, 1st V, 1st FX
1989 U.S. Olympic Festival/Jr. US Nationals: 10th AA, 3rd V, 3rd BB
1989 Konica Australian Grand Prix (Brisbane): 4th V
1990 US Challenge (Las Vegas): 2nd after round 1
1990 US Championships: 37th AA (didn't finish because of sprained ankle)
Results courtesy of Jana Mowers (nee Reardon)
Jana Reardon rose to the junior elite ranks
while training at the Parkettes. She experienced her most dramatic improvement
in the late 1980s, rising from 23rd at the 1988 Junior US Nationals to 10th
AA at the 1989 US Olympic Festival. During that same period of time she placed 2nd
at the American Classic, and in doing so earned the opportunity to represent the United States at the 1989 Konica Australian Grand Prix.
Competing against the likes of Natalia Laschenova (URS) and Yang Bo (CHN), Jana
performed impressively for a junior gymnast on her first international
assignment. She qualified to the vault event finals, finishing just out of the
medal standings (4th). Several months later Jana was featured in Sports
Illustrated for Kids.
Televised
throughout North America, the US Olympic Festival actually doubled as the 1989
Junior US Nationals. It was at this meet that
Karolyi unveiled his "six pack" of gymnasts. These six gymnasts (Kim
Zmeskal, Erica Stokes, Amanda Uherek, Kelly Pitzen , Amy Scherr, and Hilary
Grivich) all placed in the top 8 at this competition. Having witnessed the success of
Karolyi's new gymnasts, Jana decided that Karolyi's was the place to train. She switched gyms right away.
Jana's
parents could not join their daughter in Houston right away, so Jana lived with
another family during her first few months at Karolyi's. Jana was lucky though,
because she did not end up having to live with strangers. One of Jana's best
friends, former Parkettes training partner Robyn Baker, had actually switched to
Karolyi's the year before. Jana was able to stay with the Bakers until her
parents were above to move to Houston.
Under
Karolyi, Jana competed at the 1990 US Challenge - a "pyramid" type
competition where the winners from each round continue to advance. Pitted
against Wendy Bruce, who advanced through to the finals, Jana suffered defeat early on. During her
time at Karolyi's, Jana always missed the style of coaching she received at the
Parkettes. As a result, after training at Karolyi's for about one year, she
decided to switch back to the Parkettes. Unfortunately, by this point Jana was
battling constant injuries (ankle problems and stress fractures in the lower
back). Her elite career culminated at the 1990 US Nationals, where she was
unable to finish the competition because of an ankle injury.
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Photo
courtesy of Jana Mowers
Jana moved
back to the Boston area and after some time off from the sport she started
playing around at her old gym. She competed in club and high school gymnastics,
enjoying it so much that she decided to continue gymnastics in college. She earned a
scholarship to the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and once there was reunited with
former elite teammates Anne Woynerowski and Cara Leppar.
Jana had a great
freshman year, winning the All-around at the Northeast Regional meet and helping
her team qualify for the NCAA Championships for the first time in history. She
was also named 1994's ECAC rookie of the year and the following year named
gymnast of the year. Despite being plagued by her old injuries, in Jana's own
words, "college gymnastics was such a great experience, being part of a team and working together to reach different goals was extremely rewarding."
Jana also
met her future husband, Mark, at UNH (the two married in August 1999). Mark
played hockey for UNH and now plays in the NHL for the Nashville Predators. Jana
continues to stay involved in gymnastics as much as possible. She was an
assistant coach at UNH for two years after graduating and would like to get back
into coaching when she and Mark are more settled. In the summer months she
coaches camps and does a lot of choreography for gyms in the New England area.
. This page was created on March 25, 1999 and last updated on March 26, 2000.
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