Solid weekend for Glacier Club at Zone Gymnastics & Trampoline Championships
By Contributor
There was action, and more action during the 2016 Kootenay Zone Gymnastics & Trampoline Championships this past weekend at the Glacier Gym Club.
Two hundred and seventy gymnasts from Nelson, Trail, Castlegar, Creston, Cranbrook, Kimberley, Penticton and Golden competed for all around and event titles in the Girls Competitive Gymnastics Junior Olympic and Zone Levels, Trampoline Levels 1 & 2, Performance Plus Gymnastics and the High School Girls category.
Glacier Gymnastics’ recent 12 member BC Provincial Championship team, continued their winning streak in the Junior Olympic Level 6 & 7 categories.
In the Level 6, 13-14 years category, Teagan McTague claimed the All Around gold medal, just ahead of teammates Lily Taylor who won the silver medal and Gwen McCrory who took the bronze. In the Level 6, 11-12 years category, Dafni van Hellemond furthered her winning streak with an All Around silver medal finish.
In the Level 6, 9-10 years category Glacier once again swept the All Around podium with Eden Bellman taking the gold medal, Shelbi van Hellemond the silver and in her first Level 6 competition, Olivia Bezaire won the bronze. And Provincial medalist Abby Majeski, won the bronze medal in both the floor and beam events.
BC Winter Games and Provincial Champion, 11 year-old Brianne Stefani, successfully added new skills to her routines, winning the All Around gold in the Level 7 All Ages category. 15 year-old, Sara Tolles, earned the All Around bronze, with her powerful tumbling and graceful dance.
And 14 year-old, Olivia Kelly netted the gold medal for her incredibly dynamic vault. (Detailed medal results for Junior Olympic Levels 6-7 below)
In the trampoline Level 2 events, Zoe Crisfield secured the gold medal for her trampoline routine and silver on the double mini-trampoline event. Matthew Bullen won the gold for his double mini-tramp passes and silver for his sky high trampoline routine. And the Glacier Trampoline team, also won the 1st Place Team award.
“We are very proud of our veteran Junior Olympic and trampoline competitors,” said Glacier Gymnastics Head Coach, Sandra Long.
“They continue to lay down well executed routines in all their events, even with the addition of new skills.”
Some of these athletes are preparing skills to move up to the next competitive level next season and this competition is a good venue to test out new routine formats, said Long.
For six Glacier gymnasts, this was their first try at competing in the Junior Olympic Level 6 category. These girls rose to the challenge, winning 8 medals. In the 9-10 year category, Olivia Bezaire won silver on vault and bronze on bars and All Around.
In the 11-12 year category, Ashlynn D’Alessandris collected the silver medal on floor, Brynn McTague earned the bronze on floor and Tehya Colbeck took the bronze for her beam routine. In the 13-14 year category, Mercedes Majeski claimed the bronze on the floor event and Amanda Schacher won bronze for her vault.
Head Coach, Sandra Long, was very pleased with the results over the weekend. “Everyone is finishing off the season with very strong routine performances,” said Long.
The Glacier Junior Olympic Level 6-7 and trampoline team both won the 1st Place Team Award edging out 7 other Zone teams. “It is a strong indicator of success for next season as all these athletes will be trying out for the 2017 BC Provincial Championships.”
Long says that the hard-working and confident Glacier team members are raising the level of gymnastics being performed at the Nelson Club.
“The up and coming competitive Glacier gymnasts and trampolinists look to these athletes for inspiration and role modeling and the effect was obvious in the results of the junior competitors on the weekend.”
In the 8-9 year age-group, Ally Nicholson won the bronze All Around and a silver and bronze for the floor and bars events. Anouk Prud’homme, took the gold on floor and silver on vault. Simone Hildebrand earned silver medals on both the bars and floor events.
Paityn Lake claimed bronze on vault. And Ava Anast also won bronze for her elegant beam routine.
In the 10-11 year age-group, Raven Sperling, won the gold All Around and 2 golds for vault and bars. Tess Gordon, won silver All Around and bars, and bronze for vault and floor. Elsa Sollid tied for the All Around silver and also claimed silver for vault, beam and floor. Ella Taylor earned the All Around bronze and gold on beam. Sarah Robertson took home gold on floor. Fawn Herzig won 2 silvers for beam and floor. Kate May collected bronze in the beam event. And Chloe Diote won gold for her flawless bar routine.
The Glacier coaching team is delighted with the performances of the team’s junior competitors. The Zone 1 Glacier Team won the 1st Place Team Award by a landslide.
“Their dedicated training has paid off for them,” says Long.
The Glacier High School Girls Team also won the 1st Place Team Award.
In the High School Level 1 category, Ryley Thompson won gold All Around and bars, silver on vault, bronze on floor. Emma Lake claimed the silver All Around and gold on vault. Fiona Burkholder won silver on vault and beam and bronze on floor.
Jersey Hay earned bronze on beam. Mya Buchanan won silver on floor. And Gabriella Hurst took home the gold in the beam event.
Erika Bennett, cleaned up in the High School Level 2 category, winning the gold All Around, and in the vault, floor and beam events and a silver on bars. Sophie Burkholder earned the silver All Around, gold on bars and bronze on floor. Neive Harris claimed the bronze All Around, silver on bars and beam and bronze on vault. Megan Poetch won silver on vault and bronze on beam. Taila Lancaster took the silver on floor and bronze on bars.
Other personal accomplishments of the Glacier Team over the weekend occurred in the Perfomance Plus achievement category.
Glacier Gymnasts earning All Around Gold in this category: Tia Berens, Neeva Marechal, Morgan Robertson-Weir, Tabia Hartikainen, Lumay Platz, Kallie Badry
Earning an All Around Silver: Macy Weston, Atlyn Proctor, Gabby Patterson, Tiia Brackett, Molly Anderson.
