Island gymnasts secure top spots

Published 3:09 pm Sunday, March 1, 2015

FORT WORTH, TEXAS – While most Bainbridge Islanders were watching the Super Bowl, members of the Bainbridge Island Gymnastics Club were competing in Fort Worth, Texas, at the Metroplex Challenge.

More than 4,000 gymnasts came from around the country to compete at the event, with several Bainbridge athletes giving standout performances.

Competing against other Level 3 gymnasts, Avery Gray showed her mettle by earning a 9.3 on vault, a 9.6 on bars, a 9.65 on beam and a 9.45 on floor. She finished with an all-round score of 38.0 for sixth-place.

Level 3 teammate Piper Morgan also had a great meet and finished with a 9.4 on beam, and an all-around score of 35.8 for 12th-place.

Level 4 gymnasts Ari Fiore and Sophia Soltes were feeling especially steady during their session.

Fiore balanced to a 9.1 on beam, and an all-around score of 33.7 for 17th-place.

Soltes earned a 9.0 on beam, and an all-around score of 33.3 for an 18th-place finish.

Kati Cooper, a Level 7 gymnast, launched herself to a 9.05 on vault and an all-around score of 35.05 for 14th place.

Level 7 teammate Noelle Chymiy had her best bars performance to date, swinging her way to a score of 8.0.

Mariko Ronan, also a Level 7 gymnast, tumbled her way to a score of 9.25 on floor.

With just a week to shake off the jet lag, the girls followed their Texas success by competing in the Charity Choice Invitational in Tacoma.  This meet, hosted by Emerald City Gymnastics, featured more than 50 teams representing three countries, including Canada and Costa Rica.

The Charity Choice Invitational is a chance for gymnasts to make a difference, as each team competes in the name of a different charitable organization, and the Bainbridge Island Gymnastics Club competed on behalf of Bainbridge Island Hospice House.

Despite their early morning session time, the Level 3 gymnasts were awake and ready to go.

In the Child A Division, Level 3 gymnast Calypso Fletcher balanced her way to a fifth-place finish on beam and a tie for seventh place on vault.

In the Child B Division, Jade (Susu) Bereman swung her way to a sixth-place tie on bars.

In the Junior B Division, Anya Letson was seventh on beam, ninth on floor and 10th on vault, and earned an all-around score of 35.50 and 10th- place.

Avery Gray, another Junior B competitor, launched her way to sixth on vault, sixth on bars, and tied for fifth on floor with a score of 9.20.

Also in the Junior B Division, Piper Morgan swung her way to seventh- place on bars.

In the Senior A Division, Level 3 gymnast Katie Schei finished eighth on bars and 10th on floor.

Level 4 gymnast Ari Fiore balanced her way to eighth-place on beam during the afternoon session. The next day saw the Level 5 gymnasts also bring their “A” game to the tournament.

In the Senior A Division, Sydney Johnson finished first on floor, third on vault, fourth on beam and eighth on bars. She earned an all-around score of 35.5 and fourth- place overall.

In the Senior B Division, Cate Shelton-Jenck finished fourth on bars and beam, fifth on vault and 10th on floor, and had an all-around score of 34.525 and fifth-place overall.  Angeleana Golden, also a Senior B competitor, finished sixth on beam and floor and seventh-place all-around.

Nicole Houmes rounded out the group, finishing fourth on vault, eighth on beam and 10th on bars. She was ninth all-around.

Siqi Talley, the club’s lone Level 8 competitor, showed her moxie as she twisted her way to a fourth place on vault and swung to sixth-place on bars.

The Level 7 gymnasts provided a strong finish to the competition the next day.

In the Junior A Division, Level 7 gymnast Kati Cooper swung to a second-place tie on bars, sixth on vault, eighth on beam, and finished seventh all-around.

Fellow Junior A competitor Mariko Ronan launched to a seventh-place tie on vault, an eighth-place tie on floor, and locked up 10th-place all-around.

Noelle Chymiy, also in the Junior A Division, followed her strong bars performance in Texas with another great routine and tied for 10th-place on bars.

In the Senior A Division, Maria Gallivan had an impressive day, finishing second on vault, tying for second on beam, fifth on bars and floor and earning an all-around score of 35.575 and third-place overall.

Gallivan also won a coveted judge’s award for height, velocity and body shaping off the vault.

Fellow Senior A competitor Emma Chee was feeling very steady as she tied for second-place on beam and finished seventh on bars.

The girls, coached by Jason Balangue, Cheyne Clark, Ashley O’Malley and Katie Plowman, are proving to be tough contenders at any level, in every event.