Local Athlete Earns Prestigious Trophy

For one local athlete it’s time to add the first place all-around trophy from the prestigious Houston National Invitational gymnastics competition to her large collection of hard-earned medals and plaques.

Level 10 Makenzie Johnson, of Eagle’s Wings Athletics in Allen, took the all-around title during the 17th annual meet held March 4-6 at the George Brown Convention Center in Houston. She also medaled on all four individual events, earning another first place award on floor exercise (9.225). She took silver on vault (9.2) and bronze on balance beam (9.2) and uneven parallel bars (9.05).

“Winning the HNI made me feel so good inside and I knew that if I kept trying my best I would be able to accomplish much more,” said Johnson. “Regardless of your past, if you work hard and set your mind to something you will be able to accomplish so much in life.”

Johnson has had a rough start this season, first injuring her toe on uneven bars at the beginning of the season, and then getting ill days before another meet. During competition season any time on restricted workouts, or out of the gym sick, is precious time lost. For this reason, most gymnasts don’t take time off when they’re hurt, but they modify their workouts to accommodate the injury and try to let it heal.

Makenzie’s coaches, Alex Atamas and Helen Verucchi, believe in her. “The good thing about Makenzie is that she can work through the pain and can put things together very quickly,” said Verucchi. “This is a good quality for a gymnast. I still believe the best is yet to come this season.”