Gymnast Wins Two Medals in Chicago
[Written by Amanda Baughman] The Bermuda Gymnastics team returned today [Feb 14] from a weekend of competitions at the IGI “Chicago Style” Gymnastics Invitational. The nine athletes joined over 3,000 other youngsters to perform at what is called the “largest gymnastics meet in the world”: Morgan Beckles and Tabytha Hofheins competing in the Level 9 division, and Sydney Mason, Clara James, Danielle Wall, Zantae Dill, Sadia Wilson, Tais Burgess-Allen and Zekiah Lewis entering the Level 7 division.
The level 7 gymnasts turned in an exciting performance, with all of the girls improving from their last competition in December. One highlight came from Syndey Mason, who debuted a new element on the uneven bars and was rewarded by the judges. Head coach Duke Nelligan and assistant Mandi Baughman were both thrilled with her performance.
Says Nelligan, “We are very proud of Sydney. She could have played it safe and preformed her old routine, but she took a risk and it paid off. That’s what competitive gymnastics is all about!” Sydney’s bar routine turned in the highest finish of the day for Bermuda, earning 9th place with an 8.4. She also was Bermuda’s highest all-around finisher, earning 11th place with a 34.450.
Other medal worthy routines from the level 7 meet came from Sadia Wilson on balance beam with an 8.75 for 14th place, Zekiah Lewis on vaulting with a 9.1 for 14th place, and Tais Burgess-Allen on vaulting with a 9.050 16th place. Danielle Wall’s top score was an 8.7 on floor exercise, while Clara James turned in an impressive 8.925 on the vault. Zantae Dill rounded out the group with a solid meet, sticking all of her routines and earning a 33.65 all around score.
In the evening level 9 session, team captain Morgan Beckles and 13 year-old Tabytha Hofheins took the stage. Beckles earned two medals, on the vaulting and uneven bars, with a 8.5 and an 8.65 respectively.
Hofheins debuted a new bar routine on the uneven bars, including a release element she has been developing over the past 6 months. Coach Nelligan remarked, “Basically, Tabytha (who is under 5 feet tall) swings on the high bar, lets go, and lands in a handstand on the low bar. It is an element that she will be able to use for the rest of her career and is a high value part even in the college ranks. These high level elements take months to learn, with vigilant physical and mental preparation. She proved to herself that through hard work and a little trust in your coach, you can achieve anything.”
The girls return to Bermuda to prepare for their next competition, the Manhattan Classic, which will be the first trip to this meet for the Bermuda team. It is a special event as each gymnast will compete twice, under the slightly different rules of the USAG and the USAIGC. “Usually after you finish a meet, you have a feeling like ‘I wish I could just go again and do it better!’ In Manhattan, the girls will get a chance to do exactly that. We’re hoping to ride our wave of momentum from the Chicago meet and improve on our routines even further,” says Nelligan. The team will leave on March 3rd to compete in this three day event.
