My story

Marissa Michelle Saunders was born on October 13, 2005 to Anthony and Sheila Saunders at Riverside Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. She has an older brother named Anthony who is grown and out of the house. She has a 14 year old sister named McKenna who is a freshman at Westerville South High School. She is an honors student in the International Baccalaureate Program. McKenna plays club volleyball for Advancement Academy and travel softball for the Ohio Stingrays. She earned her first varsity letter as the starting libero on the volleyball team this past fall. Her other brother, Kaden, is 11 years old and a fifth grader at Hawthorne Elementary School. Kaden plays travel baseball for the Columbus Sharks 11U team, AAU basketball for the Westerville Clippers, and football in the Junior Football League of Westerville.

Marissa began gymnastics in early 2010 after Becky Doggette, a gymnastics coach at Buckeye Gymnastics, saw her running around at Kaden’s football game and told her mother that she was a gymnast. She started a recreational class shortly thereafter and progressed quickly to the competition team. Her first level 3 meet was the Showdown in November 2010. She placed second in the all-around, got some cool ribbons, and hasn’t looked back. The following season she competed at level 4. Marissa improved her performance each meet and eventually won the spring state championship on the bars, floor, and all-around. She competed a 2012-2013 season at level 4 and placed first in the all-around in seven of nine meets. At the fall state championships, she placed first in the beam and all-around. At the spring state championships, Marissa placed first in the bars, beam, floor, and all-around.

In the spring of 2013, Marissa joined the day program at Buckeye Gymnastics in order to pursue her dream of being an elite gymnast. By the fall of that year, Marissa’s skills had improved dramatically and she was ready for a challenge. At the in-house meet held at her gym, Marissa obtained the mobility scores necessary for the new level 4 and 5. She skipped the level 6 and began the meet season as a level 7 gymnast. Her first level 7 meet was the Universal Galaxy Meet in Columbus, Ohio. She scored 37.775 in route to winning the bars, vault, and all-around. Marissa won the all-around in four of seven meets with the highlight being the Coaches Spectacular where she won the bars, vault, all-around, and  the event finals on uneven bars with a score 9.600. Marissa was a member of the 2012 Diamond TOPs team, the 2013 TOPs B team, and the 2014 TOPs A team. She was invited to the September 2014 Elite Developmental Camp. Marissa will compete as a level 8 gymnast during the 2014-2015 season. She will compete in the Atlantis Crown Invitational, the Atlanta Crown Invitational, the Coaches Spectacular, Circle of Stars, the Buckeye Classic, Chicago Style, Luau in Leos, and the level 8 State Championships.