Gymtastiks shine again during Yorkton Invitational

The Moose Jaw Gymtastiks gymnastics club will be a busy group at the upcoming provincial championships next month in Saskatoon.

That’s because all 12 of their athletes from the Junior Olympics 7 to 3 divisions have officially qualified for the event after their showing at the recent Yorkton Invitational during the Apr. 5-7 weekend.

As could be expected, there were no shortage of ribbons and medals for local competitors, with Hailey Wagner leading the way.

Competing in the J.O. 3 (born 2006 and before) class, Wagner took first place on bars to go along with second-place showings on vault and floor and fifth on beam to claim first place in the all-around.

J.O. 7 competitor Shaina Closs won first place in vault and floor, third on bars and fifth on beam, but the competition was so close in her division that she ended up third in the all-around.

In the J.O. 4 (2007 and before) division, Haneefah Yusef had a fourth-place finish in vault on her way to a 10^th-place showing all around.

Blake Maltais picked up a second place ribbon in vault and would finish fifth in the J.O. 4 (2008 and after) class, one spot ahead of teammate Katelyn Sauer in sixth. Her top showing came with sixth place on floor.

The J.O. 3 (2008) division was a hub of Gymtastiks activity, led by Maci Lowry and her third-place all-around performance. Along the way she landed fourth on beam and sixth on bars. Gracelyn Blanchard was sixth overall, tying for first place on vault; Eliana Ike was tied for second on bars and third on vault but was unable to post top-10 showings in the other apparatus and finished eighth. Sienna Bollinger had a fifth-place finish in vault and ended up 18^th all-around. Gymtastiks competitor Jodan Gettis didn’t compete due to illness but had previously landed scores necessary to advance to provincials.

In the J.O. 3 (2009-10) class, Evelyn White had a fourth-place performance on bars and finished fifth all around; Logan Temple ended up sixth on bars and tied for 11^th overall.

The J.O. 2 class saw Ella Mack, Kaiya McKechnie and Chloe Moore all win gold, while silver medals went to Emmy Blanchard, Saige Buchanan, Jenna Porter and Olivia Ritzer. Bronze medals were won by Olivia Smith Wang and Nina Yousif.

Alyssa Ofukany won gold in J. O. 1 with teammates Amara Cameron, Makayla Clark, Brinley Smith and Grace Forrest not far behind with silver.

Briella Blanchard, Rhya Bollinger, Emma Clark and Madelyn Smith all won gold in the Recreational division.