SEATTLE (July 30) - Melissa Stanton, a three-time national gymnastics champion at the NCAA Division III level, has transferred from Minnesota's Hamline University to Seattle Pacific University for next season.

Stanton, who will be a junior, won back-to-back uneven bars championships at the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association championships and also took the all-around title as a freshman. She has been selected as the collegiate athlete of the year in her hometown of Rapid City, South Dakota, the past two years.

Seattle Pacific is one of the top small college programs in the nation with three national championships and 20 straight top-four national finishes, including fourth at the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships earlier this year.