Gymnasts have strong showing at first qualifier

Competing in their first provincial qualifier of the season, a contingent of 13 young ladies representing the women’s artistic program with the GymZone Sudbury Laurels travelled to Orangeville, returning north with no less than 30 medals.

Leading the charge was 16 year-old Mara Kendall, capturing the all-around gold medal in her Level 7 grouping after finishing first on the vault, bars and floor routine and second on the beam.

Making the jump to Level 6 this year, Emilie Honse wasn’t far behind, picking up a pair of silver and bronze medals and earning a second-place overall finish.

Honse was joined by teammate Brooklyn Lavallee, also moving to Level 6 and also hitting the podium with silver medals in the vault, beam and floor.

A pair of competitive newcomers also wasted little time making their presence felt as Brielle Charlebois and Nakita Portelance both captured gold with outstanding floor routines, while fellow freshman Kiiana Valentim added silver on the vault and beam.

At the upper levels, Jennifer Drane (Level 8) took second place overall, winning gold on the bar with a strong, confident routine, while Kayla Folz (Level 9) exploded through the vault, winning gold in the event en route to a second-place overall finish.

The young ladies will compete in the second provincial qualifier in early February, with the boys squad heading to Toronto in late January.