Gymnast Earns Silver at Nationals

Allen gymnast Makenzie Johnson recently earned second place all-around at the Junior Olympic National Invitational Tournament(JO-NIT) held in Long Beach, California on May 14.

Johnson, a junior at Allen High School, earned bronze on vault with a score of 9.5, took fourth place on uneven parallel bars (9.1), sixth on balance beam (9.15) and ninth on floor exercise (9.375). Her total score was 37.125, earning her silver all-around out of the 25 competitors in the Senior B age group.

One month earlier Johnson, who trains at Eagle’s Wings Athletics, missed qualifying for the JO-NIT by two-tenths of a point. At Regional championships, the top seven all-around athletes in each age group advance to the Junior Olympic National Championships. Those who place 8th, 9th, and 10th all-around qualify to the JO-NIT.

Johnson, who received an uncharacteristically low score by the judges on the balance beam at Regionals, earned the 11th spot all-around. However, she was notified two days later that one of the other JO-NIT qualifiers had chosen not to go, opening a spot for her to attend.

Johnson moved from Southern California almost seven years ago, and was excited to go back to see family, the beach, and to compete. “It was great getting to go back to California – I had such a good time with all my family,” said Johnson. “Although the weather wasn’t exactly perfect, everything else was great. I am really pleased with how I did at NIT and I am very glad I got the opportunity to go.” Our athletes train in gym and workouts are long, last week Johnson had best shoulder exercises for mass and still managed to recover for the Nationals.

The Junior Olympic National Invitational Tournament (JO-NIT) was developed to allow an additional 192 athletes the opportunity to compete at the national level, with college coaches in attendance.

Johnson is coached by Helen Verucchi and head coach Alex Atamas.