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Gymnasts back on the podium

Club holds its own at Delta Invitational

By Andrew Mitchell

The Whistler Gymnastics Club held its own at the Delta Invitational this past week, with athletes earning medals and ribbons in categories with as many as two dozen competitors.

The most outstanding gymnast for the weekend was Lenka Prochazka, who placed first all around in the Level 2 Novice category after winning gold on bars, placing second on beam, and earning bronze medals in vault and floor.

There were 16 girls in her category, including teammates Desirae Smith, Tyece Fairweather, Jasmin Budge and Meg Halliwell. Smith finished in the top-10 in all four events, placing sixth on floor, seventh on beam, ninth on bars and 10 th on vault. Fairweather was sixth on vault, ninth on floor and 10 th on beam and bars. Budge just missed the bronze medal on beam to place fourth in that event, and was eighth on vault. Halliwell, new to Level 2 this year, was 13 th on vault, bars and beam, and was 14 th on the floor.

In Level 1 Tyro, Alexandra Shuker placed third all around out of 20 competitors with bronze medals on the vault and floor, a fifth on bars and an eighth on beam.

Jenyar Nordin was sixth all around after placing fifth on vault and floor, eighth on bars and 13 th on beam.

Cate Sproule picked up a bronze medal on the beam, and was seventh on vault, 11 th on bars and 12 th on floor.

Averi Willis was fourth on the bars, just 0.2 points back of the bronze medal, and was eighth on beam, 10 th on vault and 13 th on floor.

Anitia Facundo placed eighth on floor and 13 th on beam.

Things were tougher in the Level 2 Tyro category, which featured 29 competitors from across the Lower Mainland. Hannah Raffler managed to crack the top-10 to earn a ribbon in one event, placing eighth on vault. Maye Akama was also in the category, with her best result also on the vault.

In the Provincial Under 10 category, or Kids In Progress Level 2, Whistler’s Keely Wentzel earned a gold on bars and a bronze on beam, and was eighth on vault to place 10 th all around.

Jessie Budge was sixth on floor, Carlin Mann was sixth on vault and seventh on bars, and Ellie Krasny was ninth on the foor. Cambria Willis did not earn any ribbons, but was consistent with a pair of 12 th place finishes on beam and floor out of a field of 24 athletes.

In the KIP category, where athletes are not ranked, five athletes won silver all around medals including Tatiana Fogarty, Kalea Ranger, Eve Von Rosen, Meaghan Marof and Jessica Girard. Annisa Ilham and Martina Gershon won bronze all around medals.

In Level 1 Argo, one of the largest divisions with 37 gymnasts competing, Maxine Shuster placed third on the beam, eighth on vault and 10 th on bars to place 17 th all around. Teammate Ali Marriot was sixth on the beam.

Nicola Halliwell, who won the Level 2 Open provincial championship the week before in Kamloops, finished fifth all around in Delta with a bronze on the bars, fourth on the floor, fifth on vault and sixth on bars.

Sonja D’Artois was third on the floor, fifth on vault, seventh on bars and eighth on beam.

The next meet for the Whistler gymnasts is the Ogopogo Invitational in Kelowna from June 1 to 3.