Thursday, March 04, 2010
YMCA Gymnasts Golden Again
(Ann Arbor, MI) The YMCA Level 6 Gymnastics Team captured first place in the statewide Wolverine Classic meet held at Gym America in Ann Arbor last weekend. The first place finish was especially satisfying because the Y team won without two of their top gymnasts, Annie Gerstner and Suha Augenstein, who moved up to Level 7 for the first time this season.
Kendra Benak’s 9.35 Floor routine won her first place, and with a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th on Beam, Vault, and Bars she earned the gold medal for All Around with a 36.375. Francie Flores mirrored Benak’s finish by also taking first place on Floor and All Around in the Junior A division. Other top performances included: Olivia Flores, 1st place Floor and 3rd All Around; Samantha Neddo, 6th All Around; Patricia Davis, 1st place Beam and 2nd All Around; twin sister Amy Davis, 1st place Floor and 4th place All Around; Kayla Jackson, 1st place Vault and 5th place All Around; Kalyn Peterson, 4th place All Around; Rachel Ovalle, 1st place Vault and 8th place All Around; and Amanda Gardner, 11th place All Around.
Ovalle was also honored this week with the YMCA’s prestigious “2009 Strong Kids Award” for her Level 5 State Meet gold medal performances on Bars, Floor, Vault, and All Around last year.
At Level 7, Gerstner scored a 35.150, good enough for 4th place, while Augenstein’s 34.3 earned her 7th place. The YMCA team also featured first time Level 5 gymnast Jade Turner, who scored an 8.375 5th place Vault.
The YMCA team garnered 1st place All Around with a score of 110.00, 1.4 points ahead of the 2nd place team from Hartland, by winning Floor and Vault, taking 2nd place on Beam, and finishing tied for 3rd on Bars. More than 900 Michigan gymnasts competed at the event.
For more information about Y Gymnastics, call Betsy at 929-2869, stop in to the Y Gymnastics facility at 1100 Woodmere, Suite A, or visit the YMCA website at www.gtbayymca.org.
