Gurnee Gymnastics Teams Divide and Conquer
The girls' Junior Olympic teams from Ultimate Gymnastics of Gurnee represented at three different meets across three states over the weekend of Jan. 19 - 21, 2018. While the 7, 8 and 9 teams attended Circle of Stars Gymnastics Invitational in Indianapolis, IN, gymnasts on the Level 3, 4 and 6 teams split their numbers between the Bravo Classic in Lombard, IL and the Sand Dollar Invitational in Orlando, FL.
Circle of Stars - Indianapolis
Circle of Stars, held at the Indiana Convention Center, is one of the largest gymnastics competitions in the United States, with almost 2,600 attendees. This year's event featured four separate gyms showcasing simultaneous competition throughout the weekend.
Only six Ultimate team members participated at levels 8 and 9, but the Gurnee girls made their presence known; bringing home three gold medals. Emma Haas triumphed on floor exercise in the L8 Junior B division, while Jordan-Ann Scott achieved gold on both uneven bars and floor exercise in the L8 Senior B division. Individual results are as follows:
L9
Anna Becker: Vault (4th); Bars (4th); Beam (3rd); Floor (5th); All-Around (4th)
Ashley Derrick: Vault (5th); Bars (6th); Beam (4th); Floor (4th); All-Around (6th)
L8 - Junior B
Peri Arkin: Vault (7th); Bars (9th); Beam (5th); Floor (4th); All-Around (6th)
Bailey Curtis: Vault (3rd); Bars (6th); Beam (6th); Floor (2nd); All-Around (3rd)
Emma Haas: Vault (5th); Bars (8th); Beam (8th); Floor (1st); All-Around (5th)
L8 - Senior B
Jordan-Ann Scott: Vault (3rd); Bars (1st); Beam (4th); Floor (1st); All-Around (2nd)
Ultimate's Level 7 competitors also left a major footprint in Indiana, celebrating a Second Place Team finish. In the Junior A division, Sienna Heizer was the all-around champion and gold medalist on balance beam. Jillian Ellenwood was top star in the Junior B division, finishing first on balance beam, floor exercise and all-around. In the Senior A division, Amanda Hamman was #1 on both balance beam and floor exercise. Individual placements are as follows:
L7 - Junior A
Sienna Heizer: Vault (4th); Bars (2nd); Beam (1st); Floor (4th); All-Around (1st)
L7 - Junior B
Sarah Arends: Bars (7th); Beam (9th); Floor (2nd); All-Around (8th)
Ellie Butler: Vault (7th); Bars (10th); Beam (7th); Floor (6th); All-Around (10th)
Jillian Ellenwood: Vault (4th); Bars (2nd); Beam (1st); Floor (1st); All-Around (1st)
L7 - Senior A
Emily Chabraja: Bars (7th); Beam (3rd); Floor (3rd); All-Around (6th)
Amanda Hamann: Vault (6th); Bars (6th); Beam (1st); Floor (1st); All-Around (3rd)
L7 - Senior B
Kaya Bogot: Vault (8th); Bars (4th); Beam (7th); Floor (4th); All-Around (3rd)
Lindsay Fontana: Bars (10th); Beam (4th); Floor (6th); All-Around (8th)
Kelly Sheridan: Vault (10th)
Bravo Classic - Lombard, IL
Meanwhile, back in Illinois, the majority of Ultimate's Level 3-6 athletes chose to brave the cold and attend the annual Bravo Classic in Lombard. Hosted by Phenom Gymnastics of Oswego, this year's Bravo Classic welcomed more than 1,600 competitors over the three days.
Ultimate's Level 6 athletes continued to flex their muscle, finishing 1, 2, 3 in all-around for the Junior division, and scoring a Third-Place Team finish among 14 competitive teams. Alyssah Arends wore the all-around crown in the Child division and picked up gold on uneven bars along the way. Kenzie Liebau was all-around champion for the Junior division, taking first on balance beam and floor exercise and tying for first on vault with teammate Maya Roiland. Reese Berke was floor exercise champ for the Senior division. Individual placements are as follows:
L6 Child
Angelina Appelbaum: Vault (4th); Floor (1st); All-Around (9th)
Alyssah Arends: Bars (1st); Beam (4th); Floor (3rd); All-Around (1st)
McKenna Cox: Bars (10th); Floor (6th)
Lyla Drowne: Vault (6th); Bars (6th)
Ava Fendel: Beam (3rd)
Ellie Haas: Vault (1st); Bars (7th); Beam (6th); Floor (8th); All-Around (2nd)
Caile Painter: Vault (9th); Beam (10th); Floor (10th)
Nora Werner: Vault (8th); Beam (9th); Floor (3rd); All-Around (6th)
L6 Junior
Sarah Alonso: Vault (10th)
Josie Gates: Vault (10th); Bars (9th); Floor (6th)
Logan Georgia: Vault (9th); Beam (10th); Floor (3rd)
Hailey Krueger: Vault (6th); Beam (1st); Floor (4th)
Kenzie Liebau: Vault (1st); Bars (8th); Beam (1st); Floor (1st); All-Around (1st)
Maya Roiland: Vault (1st); Bars (2nd); Beam (7th); Floor (6th); All-Around (2nd)
Livy Tran: Vault (4th); Bars (3rd); Beam (9th); Floor (2nd); All-Around (3rd)
L6 Senior
Reese Berke: Beam (2nd); Floor (1st)
Becca Tran: Beam (5th); Floor (3rd); All-Around (6th)
Georgie Walsh: Vault (2nd); Beam (3rd); Floor (3rd); All-Around (4th)
Ultimate's Level 3 and 4 athletes also gathered some serious hardware at the Bravo Classic, with more than three dozen top-ten placements in individual events. Individual placements are as follows:
L4 Child
Camryn Clark: Vault (8th); Floor (8th)
Allie Mietus: Vault (8th)
Grace Reimers: Beam (10th)
L4 Junior
Hailey Hamann: Floor (10th)
L4 Senior
Olivia Auriol: Vault (6th)
Olivia Stolzer: Beam (9th)
L3 Child
Ashley Applebaum: Vault (3rd); Bars (9th); Beam (4th); Floor (4th); All-Around (4th)
Skye Chaseley: Vault (2nd); Beam (2nd); All-Around (5th)
Lydia Fakhoury: Vault (5th); Bars (2nd); Beam (3rd); Floor (3rd); All-Around (2nd)
Layla Kadera: Vault (5th); Bars (7th); Floor (8th); All-Around (7th)
Caitlin Lanners: Vault (8th); Floor (5th)
Abby Leverenz: Floor (7th)
Annika Vanden Biesen: Beam (5th)
Emma Watts: Vault (7th); Beam (8th); Floor (9th)
L3 Junior
Leah Arceo: Vault (6th); Beam (7th); All-Around (8th)
Geneva Carlson: Vault (7th); Beam (8th); All-Around (8th)
Karina Gamalski: Vault (9th)
Sand Dollar Invitational - Orlando, FL
Despite the distractions of a weekend at Disney World, Ultimate's young athletes attending the Sand Dollar meet in Orlando, FL took care of business on Friday and Sunday, snaring several additional medals for their collections. Individual placements are as follows:
L4
Arianna Riley: Vault (7th)
L3
Lydia Fakhoury: Vault (5th); Bars (7th); Beam (5th); All-Around (6th)
Halie Stubblefield: Vault (9th)
Sienna Szechinski: Beam (8th)