Flores, Flores & Davis Lead YMCA Team: Level 6 Y Gymnastics Team Finishes Season With 13 Gold Medals
The Level 6 YMCA Girls Gymnastics team continued their statewide domination with a win last weekend at Hartland Gymnastics Academy, their final meet before the state championships later this month. The team captured first place in each event, and individually won the gold medal All Around in every age division in which they competed.
Olivia Flores, Francie Flores, and Amy Davis led the team with three individual gold medals each, closely followed by Kendra Benak with two gold medals, and Rachel Ovalle, reigning Level 5 state champion and winner of the 2009 Y Strong Kids Award, with one gold medal.
Davis’s 36.575 All Around score was a meet high. Her other two first place finishes came on Bars and Beam. Twin sister Patricia Davis tied with Amy for second place on Floor with a 9.175. Olivia Flores won the 13-14 year old division by claiming first place on Bars and Floor, both events also won by younger sister Francie in the 11 year old division. Olivia scored a 36.025 All Around, while Francie turned in a 36.225.
Kendra Benak won Vault and Floor in the 12 year old division, and placed second on Beam. Rachel Ovalle’s 9.3 Beam routine won her a gold medal on that event, and she placed second All Around.
“The girls have continued to improve all year long,” commented coach Jennifer Van Deinse, “and they’re definitely peaking at the right time.” Co-coach Gina Van Deinse added, “It’s really great the way the girls have stepped up without Annie [Gerstner] and Suha [Augenstein].” Gerstner and Augenstein were moved up to Level 7 mid-season after leading the team at Level 6 early on. Gerstner’s 35.875 catapulted her to 4th place in the Level 7 All Around scoring, but the real story was her first place Vault. “It didn’t take Annie long to make her mark at Level 7,” added Coach Jennifer, “and though this year’s state meet will be only her third Level 7 meet, she’s got a real shot at the championship.”
As Gerstner and Augenstein reach higher levels, other gymnasts are moving up to Level 5. Eight year olds Jade Turner and Annemarie Jenkins won red and yellow ribbons, respectively, for their performances at the Hartland competition.
Other high scorers for the YMCA Level 6 Gymnastics team included Samantha Neddo (2nd place on Beam and 3rd on Vault, Bars and All Around), Kayla Jackson (2nd place Vault, 3rd place Beam, and 4th place Bars), Kalyn Peterson (3rd place Floor, and 4th place on Bars, Beam, and All Around), and Amanda Gardner (4th place Floor).
The Level 6 state championship meet will be held in Holland April 30 through May 2, and the Level 7 state meet will be held in Midland April 23 – 25.
Contact Betsy Van Deinse, gymnastics supervisor, at 929-2869 for more information about the program. Our website displaying our over 65+ programs is at www.gtbayymca.org. Contact our Front Desk at 933-YMCA (9622) or our blog site at http://newsgtbayymca.blogspot.com for more information.
The Grand Traverse Bay YMCA is a faith-based charity that served last year more than 10,000 members and program participants including over 6,400 kids and 2,800 members each year through 65+ programs that build body, mind, and spirit. The Grand Traverse Bay YMCA is part of the largest charitable group in the country, received over $200,000 in donations and granted financial assistance to 500 families in 2009. Nearly 500 volunteers donated nearly 33,000 hours of their time to ensure the Y could fulfill its Judeo-Christian mission of building strong kids, strong families, and strong communities.
