Ultimate gymnasts notch up success in Florida
Escaping the Illinois cold in January for the warmth of the Florida sunshine is never a bad idea, but when you also get the chance to pit your skills against gymnasts from around the country, it's a definite win-win situation.
Members of the girls team from Ultimate Gymnastics took advantage of that very opportunity recently when they took to the competition floor at the Sand Dollar Invitational at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
Continuing a strong senior season before she packs her bags for Michigan State University, Grayslake's Ally Hoyer came out on top on floor exercise at the meet, competing in the Senior B division of Level 10. Her 9.60 score brought home the gold and she added two bronze medals: on vault (9.20) and in the all-around (35.30).
Teammate Carrie Grumhaus had two top 10 finishes at the meet, placing sixth on both vault and uneven bars.
Arguably the Gurnee-based team's strongest showing of the meet came in the Senior B section of Level 6 when Kayleigh Glickley won the all-around title, scoring 37.45. In addition, she was runner-up on vault, bars and floor exercise and third on balance beam.
Claire Kauppila, the only other Level 6 to compete at the meet, placed in the top 10 on three events and in the all-around.
At Level 3, Angelina Appelbaum continued her strong debut season with a third-place finish in the all-around in the Junior A age group (36.525). She tied for second on floor exercise and was third on the other three events.
Meanwhile, in the Junior B age group, Chloe Sim was runner-up in the all-around, second on beam and third on bars and floor. Elizabeth Haas was third all-around and added bronze medals on beam and vault, the latter in a tie with Ultimate teammate Caile Painter. Hailey Hamann was runner-up on vault.
At Level 4, three girls came away with bronze medals, two of them - Mackenzie Liebau and Emily Chabraja - on vault, while Emily Morrison placed third on uneven bars.
And in the Level 5 session, Emma Haas tied for third place on floor in the Senior A age group and Annika Chudy placed third on bars in the Junior B division.
At Level 7, Anna Becker (Junior A) and Gianna Pasquesi (Senior B) both placed in the top 10 all-around.
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