Shenshakea LaShae Sanders was born on June 10, 1989. She is the daughter of Dave Sanders and Nannette Gleason. She trained at Auburn Gymnastics during her club career.
In 2000, Shenshakea competed as a level eight. By 2003, she was competed as a level nine. She won the state floor title. In 2004, she won the all-around and floor state title. At Regionals, Shenshakea won bars. In 2005, she swept the level nine state championships. At Regionals, she won golds on every event except for vault, which she was second. At Westerns, Shenshakea won the all-around title. She also won vault and floor.
Shenshakea moved up to level ten in 2006. She won the Flips USA Invitational. At Regionals, she finished second all-around and first on beam. She competed at the JO National Championships. She finished seventh on floor. In 2007, Shenshakea placed third on beam and floor at States. She finished fourth all-around at Regionals. She did not compete at JO Nationals.
As a freshman at Alaska, she recorded the ninth vault average in Alaska's history. She earned All-MPSF honors on vault and floor. She competed on vault, beam and floor in all 13 meets. She finished fourth on vault and floor at the MPSF Championships to help Alaska win their first-ever league title. She was honored as the Most Improved Gymnastics for Alaska.
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