Young members of the Church excelled in athletics and in journalism in June.

Jackson Payne, 16, a priest in the Bearspaw Ward, Edmonton Alberta Millwoods Stake, won the Canadian National Junior Gymnastics Championship in June.

Kayla Gough, 10, a member of the Plymouth Ward, Westland Michigan Stake, has been on the presidential election beat as a Scholastic News Kids Press Corps reporter this year.

Photo courtesy Jack Payne

Jackson Payne soars on parallel bars at December's Elite Canada meet. He earned No. 1 ranking there, went on to win national title.

Photo by Kristen Gough

Kayla Gough poses with Barack Obama while fulfilling her journalistic duties.

Seven medals

Jackson Payne won four gold medals (all around, pommel horse, horizontal bar and parallel bars) and three bronze medals (floor, vault and rings) at the national meet, which attracted gymnasts under 19 years of age from across the country. It was staged in the Olympic Oval Athletic Facility in Calgary, Alberta.

Following that event, he was the youngest gymnast invited to the Canadian Olympic Team trials. He was eliminated as the 9th-ranked gymnast, just short of making the Canadian team which will take seven or eight to the Summer Games in Beijing.

These most recent accomplishments bode well for Jackson's longer-range goal of representing Canada in gymnastics at the 2012 Olympics. The London Games, however, would not be Jackson's first international experience, according to a report to the Church News from his father, Jack Payne, who is also his stake president. In 2004, at age 12, Jackson won a gold medal on the parallel bars at a meet in Cottbus, Germany. In the past two years he has traveled to China for two-week training camps with the Chinese National Gymnastics Team.

His father said he began gymnastics at age 7.

Photo courtesy Kristen Gough

Kayla Gough joins large crowd around John McCain while fulfilling her journalistic duties.

Despite his heavy training schedule, which typically consumes several hours a day every day except Sunday, Jackson maintained an honors academic standing the past school year in 10th grade at Harry Ainlay High School. He also serves as second assistant to the bishop in his priests quorum.

He quickly acknowledges that his gymnastic and academic accomplishments would not have been possible without the unwavering support and examples of his family. Three of his older brothers are serving or have served full-time missions.

Following his brothers' examples, Jackson is not only preparing to compete in the London Olympics in 2012, but also to serve a mission immediately afterward.

Reporting on the candidates

Kayla Gough is one of about 90 Kids Press Corps reporters ages 9-16 from across the United States. On its Web site, Scholastic News bills itself as "America's leading news source for kids."

Kayla interviewed Mitt Romney and John McCain as the presidential campaign trail brought them through Michigan. Early in June, she also did a one-on-one interview with Illinois Senator Barack Obama, asking him questions about her state's delegation to the Democratic National Convention. When he returned to Michigan in mid-June, she was able to fire another question at him, and he remembered her from the first interview, according to a report to the Church News from her mother, Kristen. There were supposed to be no questions asked at the time, but when the senator approached her, Kayla asked him about Al Gore as a potential running mate. As Sen. Obama began to respond, more senior reporters quickly gathered around with their own questions, Sister Gough said.

Plymouth Ward Bishop Lawrence J. Budge, told the Church News that Kayla is top notch and has "done a wonderful job" with her reporting duties. "She knows what the questions are," he said. "She's been well prepared."

E-mail to: ghill@desnews.com