The Ohio Gymnastics Institute’s competitive team has been seeing a lot of metal this year -- lots of gold, silver and bronze medals that the team members have amassed this month as the winter season comes to a close.
The competitive gymnastics team is made up of girls and boys from ages five through high school. The kids work out several days a week to perfect their skills in the 22,000-square-foot facility off Ohio 46 in Austintown. The team wraps up the season with various events that showcase gymnasts from around the state.
On Jan. 31, the team traveled to the Northeast Ohio Girls League Competition held at Great Lakes Gymnastics in Avon. Several Canfield students showed what they were made of by bringing home medals. According to one of her OGI trainers, each competitor is scored according to the performance in the vault table, uneven parallel bars, balance beam and floor exercise. The four events are combined to give an overall total for the “all-around.”
In Avon, C.H. Campbell student Emerson Fletcher earned the bronze in vault table, the silver in uneven parallel bar, and the gold in balance beam and floor exercise. Her combined score gave her first and another gold for all-around. Following her in the same age group was Hilltop Elementary’s Mackenzie Hammond who placed second to capture the silver in all-around. She took gold in vault, and uneven bars, sixth in balance beam and fourth in floor.
“Several OGI gymnasts took first in all five categories,” said OGI coach Lauren Scott-Williams. “That is five medals each.”
The team continued their success Feb. 13 and 14 when they took part in the Amateur Athletic Union Winter Nationals in Columbus. Scott-Williams said the event had more than 450 boys and girls from five states representing 22 gymnastics clubs competing. The OGI team captured 13 gold medals, 14 silver and 16 bronze, ending up in fifth place as a team.
Fletcher again posted a good score with second in the vault, seventh in the balance beam, and first in both the uneven bars and floor to give her an all-around of first place. She brought home three gold and a silver medal for her effort. Hammond placed fifth in the vault and balance beam, second in the uneven bars and third in floor to take third all around, giving her a silver and two bronze for the trip. In a little tougher level, Canfield High School athlete Morgan Cheeks captured one silver in the uneven bars and Sydney Russell, another Hilltop student, earned a medal in the youngest class.
One plus for the OGI team is the fact the trainers who are helping them achieve the medals were at one time students of OGI themselves. Scott-Williams competed in 1992. Today she is back at the gym helping other young girls achieve their dreams.
“We call the gym the Black Hole,” said Scott-Williams. “Like the movie, you can never get out. I started here as a student and now I am a coach. But it is fun to give back and to watch other young girls grow in the sport.”
The winter team basically stays around Ohio and neighboring states. As summer approaches, the team is scheduled to compete in the AAU Summer National Championships in Orlando, Fla. Scott-Williams said the trip could easy see the OGI 2010 medal count continue to climb.
