|
Branch Gymnastics Makes a Strong Showing
At Gasparilla Classic
The Branch
Gymnastics optional competitive teams traveled to St. Petersburg,
Florida to compete in the Gasparilla Classic hosted by Lightning
City Gymnastics. The competition, which was held at Tropicana
Field, turned out to be a great success for Branch Gymnastics
bringing home 15 gold medals.
“Each year we
select an away competition that involves traveling somewhere
throughout the United States. This year we decided to go south to
Florida. It is always a great experience for all of the gymnasts,
coaches, and parents to travel and compete outside our region,” says
Head Coach Al Scharns. St. Petersburg proved to be no different,
with the local attractions including the wonderful beaches, Bush
Gardens, and many other sights. With all of these fun things to see
and do head coach Al Scharns can’t help but to wonder how the
gymnasts will handle the distractions.
“One of the
goals of an away meet is learning how to deal with all of the
distractions successfully. Having the proper mixture of preparation
for the competition and fun time is always a struggle,” said
Scharns.
To help the
team get focused for competition Al Scharns’ former high school and
college teammate Arnold Gwinn opened his gym, SunCoast Gymnastics,
to all of the Branch gymnasts and parents. After a great practice
everyone settled down for a nice dinner at Chili’s. “We really
appreciated the wonderful hospitality of Arnold and Cindy. It was a
great experience for everyone involved,” said Scharns.
The Level 8
team started out the competition strong coming home with 5th place
in the team competition. Kayla DePierre led the way for the team
claiming 1st place in the All Around with a 36.625 and 1st
place on Bars with a 9.575. Kayla also earned a 2nd
place finish on Floor with a 9.15. Kaylie Hess and Manami Goto
turned in strong performances on Floor finishing in 4th
place (8.90) and 7th place (8.85) respectively. Julia
Fiore returned to competition after a foot injury that sidelined her
for a few weeks and turned in a great bar routine that landed her in
3rd place with a 9.375.
The Level 7
team turned in a number of top notch performances that earned them a
2nd place finish in the team competition. Anna Lucas led
the pack taking top honors in the All Around with a 37.250, Vault
with a 9.5, and Floor with a 9.4. Also topping the field in their
age divisions was Marianne Douglas on Vault with a 9.3, Emily
Freybler on Bars with a 9.4 and Floor with an outstanding 9.6, and
Maija Paldan on Bars with a 9.5. Kennadie Gensch and Alex King also
turned in solid performances on Bars finishing in 4th
(9.425) and 2nd (9.3) in their respective age divisions.
Jennifer Root
led the way for the Level 9 team taking 1st place on
Vault with an 8.95, 2nd on Bars (8.85) and 3rd
in the All Around with a score of 34.025. Kyleigh Sheldon took home
two 3rd place finishes on Beam (8.55) and Floor (9.075).
Sammy Veenkant Vaulted her way into 4th place with an
8.475 and finished the day in 4th place on Floor with an
8.75 and in the All Around with a 33.975.
The Level 9 and
10 boys came home with a number of top finishes. Daniel Lucas
claimed the top spot in the All Around with a 48.30. Daniel also
took home a gold medal on Rings, High Bar, and Parallel. Tyler
Scharns turned in a solid Pommel Horse routine earning an 8.4 and a
1st place finish. Tyler added to that a 4th
place finish in the All Around with a 46.10. Kyler Sill, competing
in the Level 10 division, finished in 3rd place on Rings
and finished in the 6th spot in the All Around with a
39.35.
Click here to see the results
of the Gasparilla
Classic
(Opens a new tab or browser to the Lightning City
Gymnastics Site)
Back to the top |
