Ultimate Gymnastics to field full teams at Nationals
Submitted by Jane Feely
Every single member of Gurnee-based Ultimate Gymnastics’ L9 and 10 girls team who were in action at the recent regional meet qualified to compete at the national level next month.
It’s Ultimate’s best showing at the Region 5 meet, a competition that pits the best gymnasts from Illinois against their counterparts from Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky. At stake are those coveted places at the L10 JO National meet and the L9 Eastern National Championships, both of which will take place in May.
Ultimate also claimed its first Level 10 Regional champion at the meet when Lauren Feely won the vault title in the Senior C age group. The Carmel Senior is undefeated on the vault this season having won the IHSA vault title and the L10 IL State title.
At Level 9, Lake Forest’s Brittany Moccia turned in a strong all-around performance to claim her spot on the team that will represent Region 5 at the National meet at the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, Mich. Brittany, a Junior who also competes on the Lake Forest high school team, has been returning to full strength after a broken finger over the winter adversely affected her varsity season.
After winning the Illinois State beam title at Level 9 last month, Brittany took bronze on floor exercise at regionals in the Senior 7 age group. Her all-around score of 36.70 placed her fourth and earned her the right to compete at Eastern Nationals for the first time in her club career.
At Level 10, consistency across all four events was key to Emily Basara’s success. The Gurnee native, in her first season competing at Level 10, placed sixth in the all-around in the Junior D age group, scoring an impressive 37.025. She will represent Region 5 at JO Nationals in Minneapolis and get the chance to showcase her skills to the many college recruiters in attendance. Emily, who is currently at sophomore at Warren High School, is hoping to continue her gymnastics at the collegiate level.
Also at Level 10, Winthrop Harbor’s Lauren Marshall and Gurnee’s Lauren Feely both qualified to compete at the National Invitational Tournament, a meet held immediately following JO Nationals.
Lauren Marshall hit all four events in the Junior B age group and placed 10th in the all-around. A trip to the NIT in her first season at L10 is an outstanding result for the Zion Benton freshman.
In addition to earning her spot at the NIT, Lauren Feely was also named as first alternate to represent Region 2 at JO Nationals. Region 2, which draws girls from Washington State, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Hawaii and Alaska, was unable to qualify enough girls with the minimum score for Nationals. Additional team members are provided from the strong ranks of Region 5.
Individual scores are as follows:
Level 9
Senior 7 age group: Brittany Moccia (Lake Forest): Vault: 9.25; Bars: 8.80 (10th); Beam: 9.25 (4th); Floor: 9.40 (3rd); All-around: 36.70 (4th).
Level 10
Junior B age group: Lauren Marshall (Winthrop Harbor): Vault: 9.15; Bars: 8.80; Beam: 9.00; Floor: 9.30; All-around: 36.25 (10th).
Junior D age group: Emily Basara (Gurnee): Vault: 9.325 (11th); Bars: 9.10 (8th); Beam: 9.175 (10th); Floor: 9.425 (10th); All-around: 37.025 (6th).
Senior C age group: Lauren Feely (Gurnee): Vault: 9.70 (1st); Bars: 7.575; Beam: 9.075 (5th); Floor: 9.325 (3rd); All-around: 35.675 (10th).
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