NW Team Challenge – Woodinville, WA (February 29th – March 1st)
After a lot of travel, the Columbia City and Ballard Boys were happy to have a local competition – and it was the last one before State Championships! Advantage Gymnastics hosted at their Woodinville gym, and we had a great meet!
Columbia City
Only the Level 4’s and 5’s attended this meet, and they both crushed it! The level 4’s scored their highest team score of the season and took first place as a team! Eleazer, our level 5, placed first in AA in his division. Amazing work boys!
Ballard
This was our first time going to the NW Team Challenge, a meet where there is a prize pool of $1750 for the top three teams. On Saturday level’s 4, 5, and 6 competed for the chance to be in top four to be invited back on Sunday for a highlight competition. Every athlete got a chance to show off their routines without other competition going on. It was a fun competition, filled with cheering, yelling and high-fives. With all the extra energy, our boys competed at a higher level than ever before, with many athletes getting personal bests. We also had our first score above 60 with Mateo Baptista-Allan getting a 60.9! Congrats!
We finished Sunday in 4th, but we were still just as excited to get to compete in the finals. Such a fun meet!
We finished Sunday in 4th, but we were still just as excited to get to compete in the finals. Such a fun meet!
Right to left: Will Dollinger, Kellen Lawrence, Isaiah Bandrapalli, Brody Boatman, Wiley Davis, Marcelo Rushwald, Oliver Parenteau
BlackJack Men’s Championships – Las Vegas, NV (February 21-23rd)
The Boys from both Columbia City & Ballard travelled to Las Vegas, Nevada last month for the biggest men’s meet in the country, with almost all 50 states attending, as well as other countries such as Canada, Mexico, and Columbia! The BlackJack Men’s Championship is held in conjunction with Winter Cup, which was a qualifying meet for the Olympics this year. We got to see high level athletes from so many gyms. As coaches, we ere able to make connections with other coaches, and share in knowledge. As gymnasts, our athletes got to experience a bigger meet. As spectators, we all got the chance to watch the Winter Cup, a qualifying meet for the Olympics this year, and even got to meet some of the Men’s National Team stars like Sam Mikulak and Yul Moldauer.
Columbia City
The competition was fierce but the boys did well, with some great individual placements and personal bests! The level 6’s got their highest team score of the season with a 177.6, and the level 7’s placed 3rd as a team! From level 8, Tom placed 7th AA, and Hammet got his personal best score on High Bar! Says Coach Corey, “The best part was seeing their positive attitudes. There were, of course, some mistakes, but the boys persevered and did not let a mistake bring them down, and they came back even stronger on the following event. Very proud of these guys!”
Ballard
All our boys competed really well, with many boys getting their personal best on multiple events. Says Coach Aslan, “We had some falls as we often do in the middle of a season. It is always hard with a week of break prior to a meet as well. Falls or not, our teams did really well and had fun in the process at this cool meet. It was an inspiring meet with many athletes competing very difficult routines. Our athletes got a chance see what they are working towards, or revitalize their passion about doing gymnastics. I love it when I hear, ‘I want to do that,’ or when the kids ask the names of skills because they want to learn all about the sport. It makes me happy that we are inspiring our kids to do something amazing.”
Top Gun Team Challenge at Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum (February 8th)
Columbia City
The Boys Team went to McMinville for their second time this year to attend the Top Gun Team Challenge put on by OMEGA Gymnastics! Such a great venue and fun meet! They boys had a great time and showed some really good performances. Level 4’s placed 1st, Level 6’s Placed 3rd and the Level 7’s came in 2nd. Strong work boys.
Ballard
While we still have some room for improvement in team scores, the Ballard Boys had some great individual accomplishments at this meet: Level 10 Mateo A. competed his front-full for the first time of floor, Level 6 Beckett competed his round-off / back handspring / back tuck for first time, Level 5 Logan B. completed 5 circles on the mushroom, Level 4 Logan L. had his best meet of the season, and Junior Developmental Owen placed 2nd all-around and won parallel bars. Great job, guys!
Left to Right: Wiley Davis, Marcelo Rushwald, Isaiah Bandrapalli, Oliver Parenteau, Brody Boatman, Will Dollinger, Kellen Lawrence
Left to Rightt: Will Dollinger, Brody Boatman hiding, Oliver Parenteau, Kellen Lawrence, Marcelo Rushwald, Wiley Davis, Isaiah Bandrapalli
Ealezar Meshesha and Coach Ahmad
Left to right: Alastair Berg, Luke Dunn, Tanner Boatman, Andrew Cameron, Finn Boatman, Colby Pacquing
Left to Right: Henry Moore, Tom Young, Owen Clarkson, Hammet Lear, Logan Chenowyth, JJ Pacquing, Shay West
IFC Coaches Cup at Metropolitan Gymnastics (Kent)
Last weekend (January 25-26) both the Ballard and Columbia City boys attended the ICF Coaches Cup at Metropolitan Gymnastics in Kent. This competition is a fundraiser for the Iron Cross Foundation scholarship fund. ICF helps defray competition-related expenses for JO athletes for level 5 and up who would otherwise not be able to compete. We are happy to support this foundation! Our boys had a great time and had some great results!
Columbia City Team placements: Level 4’s placed 2nd, level 6’s and level 7’s both placed 1st! Congratulations boys, keep working hard!
Ballard was back in action after a 6-week break. Shaking off some of the cobwebs we brought our game to ICF! Although we had some falls, the boys’ routines were all pretty clean. The next month and a half leading to States we will be working on making consistent, clean routines to push our way to the podium.
Team placements:
Level 4’s – 4th place (only 0.6 off of 3rd!)
Level 5’s – 5thplace; we know what to work on to improve!
6’s – 4thplace (only 0.7 off of 3rd!)
Junior Developmental – No team Score
Level 10 – No team Score
From left to right: (Judge Karen photobombing), Brody Boatman, Coach Corey, Isaiah Bandrapalli, Will Dollinger (hiding), Oliver Parenteau, Kellen Lawrence, Marcelo Rushwald, Wiley Davis
Level 4’s: Malcolm Blair, Dillon Rho, Evan Migal, Issac Mackey, Logan Lamsek
Level 5’s: Logan Boetjer, Holden Weston, Caleb Filer
From left to right: Luke Dunn, Alastair Berg, Tanner Boatman, Colby Pacquing, Finn Boatman, Coach Corey, Andrew Cameron, Coach Ahmad
From left to right: Henry Moore, Shay West, Owen Clarkson, JJ Pacquing, Hammet Lear, Tom Young, Tucker Sharples, Logan Chynoweth
Jr Rocky Mountain Open in Colorado
Last weekend was the first time our boys attended the Jr Rocky Mountain Open. This competition was held at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. We had a blast! A portion of the proceeds from this meet directly support the AFA men’s gymnastics program. The boys performed well and went up against some really tough competition! Aside from competing, they got to watch a college meet on Saturday with some of the top collegiate teams in the country along with some members of the National Team who were trying to qualify to this years’ Winter Cup in Las Vega, Nevada. As a team our level four’s placed 2nd, level six’s placed 4th and the level seven’s placed 3rd.
Level 7’s & 8’s from Left to Right: Tucker Sharples, Tom Young, Shay West, JJ Pacquing, Logan Chynoweth, Hammet Lear, Henry Moore
Level 6’s from left to right: Colby Pacquing, Finn Boatman, Andrew Cameron, Tanner Boatman, Luke Dunn, Alastair Berg
Level 4’s Left to right: Wiley Davis, Marcelo Rushwald, Brody Boatman, Will Dollinger, Oliver Parenteau, Kellen Lawrence
Washington Open at University of Washington
The Columbia City boys headed to UW January 3 – 5 for the Washington Open! This is a spacial meet as it is also a fundraiser for the UW Men’s Gymnastics team (of which a few of our SGA coaches are also a part of!). “Washington Open is the big kick off to the competitive season,” says Coach Corey. “The Columbia City boys team had great performances and had a lot of fun! As a team, the level 4’s placed first, the level 6’s placed second and the level 7’s placed first. Way to go, team!”
Cold Turkey 2019
The Columbia City and Ballard boys team had their first competition this weekend! The annual Cold Turkey. It’s a great pre season meet to get out all the competition nerves and get back into the groove of competing! They had a pretty great start to the season!
From Columbia City, Level 4 and Level 6 teams took second place and the level 7 team placed first! We only have one level 5 gymnast, Eleazer, so there is no team award, but he took first place in his division. As for our Level 8’s, Hammet Lear placed first in his division and Tom Young placed third in his! Nice work team!
From Ballard, Level 4, 5 and 6 teams all landed in fourth place, but were so close to snagging third! We are proud of the way the Boys overcame some some falls and challenges, and as we continue to work on routines for the season, our goal is to hit 100% of our routines by the end of the year for State and Regionals!
Ballard’s Junior Developmental did not place due to only two athletes, but they very clean routines, and are working hard on new skills for the season.
Ballard’s Level 4’s enjoying their first meet of the season (below)
Columbia City Level 4’s (below) From left to Right: Brody Boatman, Kellen Lawrence, Wiley Davis, Marcelo Rushwald, Oliver Parenteau, Will Dollinger
Columbia City Level 6’s & Level 5 (below)
From left to right: Ray Teplitsky, Andrew Cameron, Alastair Berg, Finn Boatman, Tanner Boatman, Colby Pacquing, Luke Dunn, Eleazer Meshesha
Columbia City Level 7’s (below)
From left to right: Tucker Sharples, Logan Chenowyth, JJ Pacquing, Shay West, Owen Clarkson, Henry Moore
