BUTLER TWP— Call him the leader of the pack.

Michael Cichra, 13, of Butler Township recently became the first Elite Athletic Center gymnast to win a state championship.

The Knoch Middle School seventh grader finished first in parallel bars for Level 5, age 10 and up, at the state meet in Allentown.

Elias Cortes is in his third year as coach and owner of the Elite Training Center. He has about 200 students in gymnastics, tumbling and martial arts.

"We drilled Michael hard in the parallel bars because he was struggling in that area. It was probably his worst event,"Cortes said. "Now it's his best event."

Cichra scored a 9.75 in parallel bars at the state meet. He finished third in all-around with a 54.7. He was third on pommel horse, rings and high bar as well.

Level 5 is the highest level of student Cortes has right now. Cichra is also among the older students in the gym.

"The younger boys look up to him and he works with them,"said Elite Training Center coach Corey Greenidge. "It actually hurts him a little, I think, not having someone his own age to work out and train with here."

Greenidge, 27, is from Barbados and has been coaching with Cortes since January. He competed in the 2003 World Gymnastics Championships and finished 39th out of 300 competitors in the vault.

Greenidge also is an active elite-level gymnast.

"I had shoulder surgery recently and have just gotten back into training," he said. "My goal is to get to the Olympics, so I know I'll be at this for at least another four years."

Cichra is grateful to be working with him.

"He's taught me ways to get physically stronger,"Cichra said. "I've learned how to use my increased strength to better my routines."

Cichra will head to Temple University in Philadelphia for the Level 5 regional meet next month. His goal is to place among the top three there.

Next year, he will compete in Level 6.

"Michael will move up a level each year from here on,"Cortes said. "We've worked with him for the past two-plus years on fundamentals.

"He has the fundamentals down. Now, we can advance him in a safe way."

Cichra spends nearly 15 hours a week, spread over three or four days, in the gym. His goals come in small steps.

"I want to place among the top three in Level 6 next year," he said.

Ultimately, he wants a college scholarship.

"Definitely. That's what I'm working for," Cichra said.

Cortes, 36, had been coaching since age 13 in Brooklyn, N.Y., before coming to Butler in 2002. He has worked with the Canadian national team and trained Tony Palopsky, who went on to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, for nearly 10 years.

"Michael has the potential to be a national level competitor,"Cortes said. "He knows what he needs to work on and he'd dedicated enough to improve in all areas."

Two Level 4 gymnasts from the facility, Lev McCollough and Josh Seybert, placed fifth on rings and third on parallel bars, respectively, at the state meet.

Cichra pulls for the youngsters following in his footsteps as much as for himself.

"I want to see them do just as good, maybe better,"Cichra said. "When I show them something, I can see part of me in what they're doing. I like that."