Medals, top-10 finishes for Cayman gymnasts in Dallas

By Cayman Sports Buzz
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Updated: 09/02/2018

Morgan Crowley, seen here on the bars, won gold in the vault. (Photos and info contributed)

A team of competitive gymnasts returned to the Cayman Islands with medals and each member earning top-10 finishes at the 2018 Metroplex Challenge in Dallas, Texas from 26-28 January.

Jaiden Gilbert was the team’s high points earner, winning the all-around bronze medal in the Xcel Platinum division, and also earned her way to the podium with a bronze on vault, bars and beam.

Mia VenDevelde

Morgan Crowley and Mia VenDevelde both earned top-10 finishes in the Xcel Gold Division. Crowley took home Cayman’s only gold medal with an impressive, near perfect score of 9.8 on vault.

Sophia Simpson and Maddalena Polloni competed at USAG Junior Olympic level 4 and placed 6th and 8th all-around in a competitive field. Both girls placed top-10 in every event and Simpson fell just short of bronze with a fourth-place finish on beam and floor.

Bethany Hawkins and Natalie Bodden also placed top 10 all-around in the USAG Junior Olympic level 3 programme.

Coach Kelley Paz, who accompanied the seven gymnasts, said she was “very pleased” with the performance of the gymnasts, who all earned top-10 finishes.

“Texas is a highly competitive centre for gymnastics in the US, so it was great to see the strong performance of the Cayman gymnasts in this competition,” Paz said.

: Natalie Bodden

: Maddalena Polloni

The next major competition for Cayman gymnasts will be the Gasparilla Classic in St. Petersburg, Florida which attracts over 3,500 gymnasts from across the United States and internationally. Sami Peene and Igor Magalhaes will also compete in Bermuda at the International Gymnastics Challenge in March.