Godfrey – For Christine Bower of Mid-Illinois Gymnastics, all the gymnasts and tumblers at the gym are special.
This season they have taken a few steps further.
Mid-Illinois tumblers lead a group of about 25 national performers to three team trophies and 20 individual tops at the U.S. Tumbling and Trampoline National Championships held last week at the BOS Center in Springfield, Illinois. Made it into the top 10.
“It’s been a very special year,” said Bower, who coaches the Mid-Illinois team alongside Brendan Lawson, Judy Johnson-Dua, and gym founders Larry and Louise Moane. “We have won three team trophies and feel that our hard work has finally paid off.
“We put Mid-Illinois back on the leaderboard again.”
Mid-Illinois athletes have competed in USTA tumbling for 25 years. Along the way we saw some great gymnastics and tumbling performances, including many performances by Bower and Johnson Dar.
Bower said the group has a special chemistry this season.
“These talented athletes have a big bright future, not only in tumbling but also in gymnastics,” Bower said. “They have competed in all levels of tumbling over the years. They go to the gym five days a week and spend hours training every day.”
She said the local tumblr “won the tough competition very well.”
Individually, Mid-Illinois’ Allison Jennings finished 3rd in the Open Elite competition and 7th in the Age E 15-16 Elite.
“This year was her first time competing at the elite level,” Bower said of Jennings. She said, “I think she felt a little overwhelmed at the beginning of the week, but she settled into the competition and she showed her judges that she was at an elite level.”
At the sub-advance level, Mid-Illinois finished third in the team standings, led by Madison Honke, who finished first in the 17+ team in the first flight.
“Madison Honke is a tumbling veteran,” Bower said. “She started competing at the end of the year and has shown dominance at the semi-advanced level. It was the glue that sealed second place.” Place team.
“Besides Madison, the sub-advance team of Avery Blevins, Kinsley Scott, Sophia Mohn and Brooklyn Wood have come together very strongly.”
Wood finished second in his maiden flight competition in 2011-12, Scott finished sixth in 9-10, and Blevins finished 10th in 9-10.
Onyx Overmyer led the mid-Illinois novice-level team.
“Onyx was the novice team leader,” Bower said. “She finished first and helped her team finish second out of 38 teams. She is incredibly athletic and she will progress at a fast pace. ”
At the national competition, competitions were organized by age and level, and were carried out in flights. In some age groups he had eight flights, some with over 70 participants. Flight medals and award medals were awarded, and the top 10 were selected from all flights combined for each age group and level.
Other mid-Illinois sub-advance results included Eva Steiniger finishing third in the 2013-14 Intermediate and Annabelle Rojas finishing fourth in her maiden flight as a nine-year-old.
In the novice competition, Madeleine Pruitt was 5th on her first flight at the age of 9, Blakely Kinkel was 4th, and Stella Bechtold was 7th. Among eight-year-olds, Cecilia Peters was ninth.
Sub-novice results included Aubrey Yen 2nd in her 7-year-old’s first flight, Emma Corrie 8th in her 10-year-old’s first flight, Helen Hillen 6th in her 7-year-old’s first flight, and Randy Clarke. The 12-year-old placed 6th in her first flight, and Adaline Clarke, aged 7, finished 10th.
In the sub-novice men, Joseph Elliott finished fifth in the 7-8 year old competition.
Bower said a group of coaches and a group of parents contributed to the team’s success.
“Brendan Lawson is back at our coach,” she said. “He is a very good coach at all levels and spends a lot of time with us. Louise and Larry Morne are still here every day and Judy Johnson Doul is a great coach with all the talented athletes. working hard.
“Also, our parents’ group is amazing and they want the best for all athletes. It really takes a village to raise champions.”
Bower said his coaches didn’t get much time off after returning from the Nationals.
“We were already back last week and were making plans for next year,” she said.
