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Web Release April 15, 2007
LEVEL EIGHT REGIONAL COMPETITION - HURRAY!
Kayla Edgin, Kelsey Lerner, Courtney Ellis and Taylor Rai Johnson, Jacksonville Gymnastics Competitive Level Eight team members, show their pretty smiles after competing on Saturday and Sunday at the Level Eight Regional Competition at Texas Women's College at Denton, Texas.
What an exciting weekend!!!! Dodging tornados and hail storms, fighting Dallas traffic, getting lost three or four times for each part of the trip from Irving to Denton, not getting enough sleep – and that was only the travel. The meet was great and really exciting. The other parts were just a mere bother.
The Regional Three Competition was held at Texas Woman’s College, Denton, Texas, this past weekend, and the Jacksonville Gymnastics four Level Eight gymnasts were all fortunate to have been selected to go – especially so since only sixteen gymnasts from Arkansas attended the competition. Region Three covers seven states – Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming. There were 259 gymnasts from 120 clubs entered in six different age groups and it was a wonderful competition held in a great venue for viewing and the sessions were run very efficiently. There were four judges for each event, and double equipment was used for the vault, bars and beam and a separate tumble floor was used for warming up for floor exercise.
The breakdown of the gymnasts by state were: Colorado – 67 gymnasts from 26 teams; Kansas – 18 gymnasts from seven teams; New Mexico – ten gymnasts from three teams; Oklahoma – 32 gymnasts from nine teams; Texas – 111 gymnasts from 46 teams; Wyoming – four gymnasts from three teams; and Arkansas – 16 gymnasts from six teams. The number of gymnasts attending from each state is determined for Region Three by a certain percentage of the number of gymnasts available in the State and the top scoring gymnasts fill that percentage. Gymnasts competed against students their age and age breakdowns and number of gymnasts were: Ages eight to ten - 27 gymnasts; eleven – 37; twelve - 49; thirteen - 52; fourteen - 46; and fifteen and above – 50.
The four Level Eight gymnasts from Jacksonville Gymnastics Competitive Team who were selected to attend the Regional Competition were Courtney Ellis, age eleven; Taylor Rai Johnson and Kayla Edgin, age thirteen; and Kelsey Lerner, age fifteen. Kelsey was selected to compete last year also.
Competition was fierce and winning scores were 37 to 38.9 points and above (out of 40). A gymnast could have very good scores and still not place in the honors. In one age bracket, the top gymnast had an individual all-around score of 38.9 and the twelfth place award had a 38. The number of placements awarded were decided by a percentage of competing gymnasts in that age. One age bracket went out twelve places – another age bracket went out seventeen places. Kelsey placed thirteenth on vault, fourteenth on bars and tenth on beam and placed twelfth out of fifty competing gymnasts, age fifteen and above. (She placed tenth last year out of 56 gymnasts.)
Courtney competed against 37 gymnasts and she did very well. She was the only eleven-year-old competing from Arkansas and she scored an all-around score of 36.825, which was her highest score of the season. She scored a 9.325 on vault, 9.225 on bars, 9.250 on beam and 9.025 on floor.
Taylor Rai and Kayla competed with 52 thirteen-year-old gymnasts. Three other gymnasts from Arkansas competed at the same time. Kayla tied for fifteenth and placed sixteenth on the beam with a score of 9.575.
We have learned why Texas is so strong in gymnastics – they attend many more hours a week than Arkansas gymnasts, and some of their prices are almost four times what we pay. We all love Arkansas gymnastics and we especially thank our coaches, Laurel, Erin, Stacy, Lois and Christy for all the hard work that they put forth to coach our gymnasts, and we are especially thankful for the supportive attitudes that they display, as opposed to the coaching techniques of some coaches.
We are also grateful for our “open viewing” policy, so we know how our children are growing in the sport and we are not just trying to outguess the coaches.
Kelsey Lerner and Coach Erin taken before Kelsey competed - It was already warm-up time and I couldn't use flash - so it is distorted - Sorry Kelsey. Kelsey competed at noon Saturday.
Courtney Ellis poses after her successful competitive meet. Courtney competed Saturday afternoon.
Kayla Edgin and Taylor Rai Johnson quickly posed for me before their competition. They competed Sunday at the noontime competition.
The girls worked so hard and we are so proud of them. Congratulations, gymnasts on a very successful season!!!