LEVEL 4 - FUN MEET
LEVELS 6, 7, AND 8 STATE MEET
Jacksonville Gymnastics USAG Junior Olympic Competitive Team traveled to Fayetteville to compete Saturday in a meet to determine the State Team Championships and individual all-around championships for Levels Six, Seven, Eight and Nine. One hundred and eighty-nine gymnasts from twenty-seven teams competed in three different sessions of the all-day meet.
Forty-three Level Eight and sixteen Level Nine gymnasts competed in the first session, which began at 8:00 a.m. Level Eight gymnasts compete difficult skills such as layouts and fulls on floor, back handsprings on the beam, tsukaharas on the vault, and giants and flyaways on the bars. Many years of training and hours in the gym are required to meet Level Eight skills. This is the first year for the Jacksonville gymnasts to compete Level Eight. The four Jacksonville Level Eight team gymnasts who competed in the meet are Emily West, age eleven; Sarah McAlister, age thirteen; Jessica Wilde, age fifteen; and Meaghan Townsend, age sixteen.
Fifty-nine Level Seven gymnasts, including nine Jacksonville Gymnastics Team Members, competed in the afternoon session. The Jacksonville Gymnastics Level Seven Team earned their season-high score at this meet and won the Third-Place State Championship Level Seven Team Banner. The Jacksonville Gymnastics team members who competed were Hannah Womack, age nine; Kayla Edgin and Taylor Rai Johnson, age eleven; Sissy Ghormley and Shannon Mavity, age twelve; Kelsey Lerner, Missy Whittecar and Stephanie York, age thirteen; and Bonnie Brown, age fourteen. The Level Seven Team typifies the entire Jacksonville team in that it represents central Arkansas. These team members are from Beebe, Cabot, Bryant (three members), North Little Rock, Sherwood and Jacksonville.
In the State competitions, it is an honor to earn a banner at any level. At the State meets, at the different levels, banners are awarded only to the first five teams and trophies are awarded to the sixth-place team and on, depending on how many teams and gymnasts are competing. The Jacksonville Gymnastics Level Seven team members were awarded the third-place team banner, for the second year in a row. These gymnasts were all new to this year’s level seven team with the exception of one, who only a month ago had returned to the team after a five-month absence.
Level Seven individual all-around honors went to Hannah Womack, third place in the eight and nine-year-old category; second place to Kayla Edgin, and third place to Taylor Rai Johnson, both age eleven; and second place to Bonnie Brown in the age fourteen category. Additionally, Taylor Rai is the State Champion on uneven bars and Kayla is the State Beam Champion, both for the age eleven bracket.
Seventy-one Level Six gymnasts, including the nine Jacksonville gymnasts, competed in the evening session. The Jacksonville Level Six gymnasts who competed in this meet were: Courtney Ellis and Reagan Bennett, age nine; Madison Ellis, Morgan Bussard, and Kierra Daniel, age eleven; Bria Wiggins, age twelve; and Rene’e LaFort, Audrey Nettles and Brooke Nevins, age thirteen.
The Jacksonville team won the Second-Place State Championship Team Banner, Level Six. The Team beat their own season-high score by over four points, (a large margin in gymnastics). They won this banner over the other known strong teams in the state, and lost by one point to a team that they had earlier beaten. The Level Six team has a great season record. In addition to this State banner, the team members have won five first-place team trophies, two second-place team trophies, (the first was won at a large Springfield, Missouri meet and the other at a very large Shreveport, Louisiana meet, losing to a Houston team by only one/twenty-fifth of one-tenth point) and a fourth-place team trophy.
Not only did the Level Six Team win the second-place State Championship Banner, but also two of the gymnasts are now State Champions for their age bracket, Level Six. They are Courtney Ellis, age nine, and Rene’e LaFort, age thirteen. Both gymnasts are first-year Level Six gymnasts. Courtney was also the Level Five State Championship last year at age eight.
Courtney and Rene’e join Jacksonville gymnast, Erica West, age seven, who two weeks ago won the Level Five State Championship for her age bracket. And these three competitors join three more Jacksonville Level Four gymnasts who won First-Place Individual All-Around Honors at the Level Four Fun Meet attended by gymnasts from all over the state.
The Jacksonville Level Four Team also competed in Fayetteville Friday in the Arkansas State Fun Meet. Competing in this all-day, three-session meet were 272 gymnasts, ages six to twelve, from twenty-seven teams. Most gymnasts and teams in the state compete in this meet and individual all-around winners are determined for each age group. No team trophies are awarded - the theory being to make level four less competitive for teams and the emphasis is placed on individual awards.
The Jacksonville Gymnastics Level Four Team was undefeated this year, having won a first-place team award in each of their six meets and even with the high scores previously earned, the team competed even better than in any of these meets. The Level Four team topped all of their previous scores by two to five points.
The Jacksonville Level Four gymnasts who competed in the Fun Meet were: Mackenzie Ellis, Kathryn Mavity and Madi Spears, age six; Bailea Jones, Kendra Lytch and Sarah Jane Womack, age seven; Carlie Beaird, Sydney Hickerson and Samantha Sobba, age eight; Amanda Hicks, Lauren McKibben and Cami Wright, age nine; Elise Bamburg, Kelsy Founds and Shelby Matney, age ten; Caitlyn Dillon, Christy Dodds, Bethany Gunnell, Michelle LaFort, and Madison Winstead, age eleven; and Meagan Trotter, age twelve. One of the requirements for Level Four gymnasts is a good round-off back handspring, which is done well by the Jacksonville Team, including the three six-year-old gymnasts.
A perfect score for a gymnast on an individual event is ten and a perfect total meet score for an individual is 40. Jacksonville had three first-place individual all-around winners for their age bracket: ten-year-old Kelsy Founds with a score of 37.8; eleven-year-old Caitlyn Dillon with a score of 37.35; and twelve-year-old Meagan Trotter with a score of 37.15. Eight-year-old Sydney Hickerson tied for first-place all-around with a score of 36.7. Taking the highest individual event score breaks ties and Sydney’s highest event score was one-tenth of a point lower, so she was awarded the second-place all-around honor for her age bracket.
Kelsy and Caitlyn each earned a 9.85 and Meagan earned a 9.80 on the vault. A perfect 10 was awarded on the vault at this meet, which added to the excitement for the young gymnasts and parents alike.
The Jacksonville Gymnastics Level Five Team won the Fifth-Place State Championship Team Banner two weeks ago at their State Meet held at Searcy.
Although the Jacksonville team members are from various areas of central Arkansas, they all proudly represented the green and white and Jacksonville in the State Championship Meet. The gymnasts will now return to their regular team workouts. They will continue to perfect their level skills while also continuing to work on higher-level skills in preparation for the next meet season. Before the additional summer workout hours begin, new Level Four gymnasts will also join the team.
Jacksonville Gymnastics Level Four Gymnasts win Top Individual All-Around Honors at Arkansas State Fun Meet. Twenty-one team members proudly represented the Jacksonville Gymnastics Level Four Team as they competed in an all-day, three-session meet with 272 gymnasts from 27 Arkansas Teams. The Level Four team was undefeated this season and although team awards were not given in this culmination meet, the Jacksonville team score in this meet topped their earlier winning scores by five points. Shown here are First-Place Individual All-Around winners for their age bracket: Kelsy Founds, age 10; Caitlyn Dillon, age 11; and Meagan Trotter, age 12. Not shown is Sydney Hickerson, age eight, who tied for first place in her age bracket. The team competed in three different sessions so no team photo was available.
Jacksonville Gymnastics Level Six Team Wins Second-Place State Championship Banner. The gymnasts had an outstanding season winning first place in five meets, second place in two out-of-state meets and a fourth-place team trophy before winning this State Championship Banner. Level Six competing team gymnasts from left to right are: Courtney Ellis, Rene’e LaFort, Kierra Daniel, Audrey Nettles, Reagan Bennett, Bria Wiggins, Morgan Bussard, Brooke Nevins and Madison Ellis. Courtney, age nine, and Rene’e, age 13, also won the First-Place Individual All-Around State Championship for their age bracket. All of these competing gymnasts but one were first-year Level Six Gymnasts.
Jacksonville Gymnastics Level Seven Team Members are shown proudly displaying their Third-Place State Championship Banner. Jacksonville placed third behind the State’s two strongest teams but also won over several other very strong teams. This is the second year in a row for the Level Seven Team to win the Third-Place Team Banner, although the team this year consists of different team members. The competing Level Seven Team Members from left to right back row are: Sissy Ghormley, Kelsey Lerner, Shannon Mavity, Stephanie York, Missy Whittecar and Bonnie Brown. Holding the banner, first row are Second and Third-Place State Champions, age 11, Kayla Edgin and Taylor Rai Johnson. Bonnie Brown is also a Second-Place State Champion, age 14. All the gymnasts but one competed as first-year Level Seven gymnasts.
Jacksonville Gymnastics Level Eight Gymnasts competed Saturday in the State Championship Meet for Levels Eight and Nine. This is the first year for Jacksonville Gymnastics to have Level Eight Gymnasts and the first year for each of these gymnasts to compete at this level. The Level Eight gymnasts competing for Jacksonville Gymnastics are: Emily West, Sarah McAlister, Jessica Wilde and Meaghan Townsend.
Shown here are Jacksonville Gymnasts Courtney Ellis, age nine and Rene’e LaFort, age thirteen. The gymnasts are All-Around State Champions for their age bracket, Level Six.
