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Gymnasts flip to strong performances in Langley

Thirteen members of the Williams Lake Gymnastics Club joined upwards of 800 competitors March 8-10 for the Christy Fraser Memorial.
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The WLGC’s team of (back from left) Thea Lutters

Thirteen members of the Williams Lake Gymnastics Club joined upwards of 800 competitors March 8-10 for the Christy Fraser Memorial Invitational, hosted at the Langley Events Centre.

Mike Stinson, head coach of the WLGC, said it’s one of the bigger meets his club will attend all year, and added it’s also one of the most nerve wracking, especially for his younger competitors.

“It was nerve wracking at first but they did really well,” he said. “They overcame their fears.”

Ashia Chutskoff and Gabrielle Gracia, both competing for the first time at the meet, said they thought they improved upon their last outings.

“It was OK but very big,” Chutskoff, who was competing in the Provincial 2 Tyro division, said.

“I felt I did better at this meet than the last meet.”

Gracia, in the Provincial One Argo division, said her floor routine was her best.

“I did better and kept my legs straighter,” she said.

Gracia placed 17th in vault, 17th in uneven bars, 20th on beam and 16th on floor for a 15th-place all around finish.

Chutskoff picked up a 26th-place all around result.

For Chloe Lutters and Bjorn Hunt, it was their second year competing at the meet.

Chloe, in the P2 Tyro division, flipped to a ninth-place vault finish and a 13th-place uneven bar event, combining for an 18th-place overall result.

Bjorn, in the P1 Male category, won a bronze medal on floor, a bronze medal on pommel horse, a silver medal on rings, a gold-medal on vault, a silver medal on horizontal bar and an all-around silver.

“Vault was my best, by a long shot,” Bjorn said.

“I was a lot tighter than I’d been in the past.”

Thea Lutters, in the P1 Argo 2004 division, finished 12th all around. Abayah Hunt, in the P1 Argo 2003 class, finished 22nd all around.

In P2 Tyro, Alyssa Suderman finished 24th overall.

Hunter Jariett, in P1 Novice, finished with a ninth-place all around result after picking up fifth in vault, ninth on uneven bars, eighth on beam and 10th on floor.

Carson Coldwell, in the same division, finished 6th overall after claiming 9th on vault, sixth on bars, fifth on beam and eighth on floor.

In the P2 Novice category, Samantha McKee took 15th all around — her best a 10th-place finish on vault — while Michaela Newberry, in the same division, finished 19th all around.

In P3 Male Under 13 Joseph Brinoni picked up 17th all around.

In P3 Male Over 13 Andrew Bettles finished fifth all around following a silver medal on floor, a bronze medal on vault, a fifth-place result on pommel horse, a fifth-place result on rings and a fourth-place finish on both parallel bars and on horizontal bar.

“We had more kids win this year than we did last year so we’re doing something right,” Stinson said.

“They all overcame some big boundaries and performed really well.”



Greg Sabatino

About the Author: Greg Sabatino

Greg Sabatino graduated from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops with a Bachelor of Journalism degree in 2008.
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