USAIGC National Champions Return to Allen

Makenna Wellborn wins USAIGC National Champion title for all-around and uneven bars. Photo courtesy of timelessimages.com.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS RETURN TO ALLEN

ALLEN, TX: Beautiful Palm Springs, California played host city to the National Championships of the United States Association of Independent Gymnastics Clubs, Inc. (USAIGC) from June 26 to July 1. Thirteen gymnasts from Eagle’s Wings Athletics (EWA) qualified to compete, bringing home medals and National Champion titles.

Makenna Wellborn earned the title National All-Around Champion in the age 16 and over Platinum division. To earn the all-around gold she took first place on uneven parallel bars, second place on balance beam, and third on both floor exercise and vault. Her event placements in the all-around competition the first day qualified her to compete in the event finals the second day. There she took silver on floor exercise  and placed fourth on bars, and fifth on vault and beam.

“I am extremely proud of Makenna winning the All Around Champion this year”, said EWA’s USAIGC head coach Alan Kirby. “She has made unbelievable progress being out of the gym the past three years and only being back for four months!  Makenna has worked so hard for this moment and put everything she had into this competition showing that hard work, dedication and perseverance can help you achieve any goal you set.”

In the Gold (Level 8) division, Kelsey Pence won fourth place all-around (35.5) out of the 31 gymnasts in the 12 to 14-year- old division. She earned first place on vault (8.8), third on uneven bars (8.9) and fourth on floor (9.45) to qualify to compete those three events the next day. In event finals she took bronze on floor exercise (9.5) and vault (8.9) and placed seventh on bars (8.65). Hailey Thomas and Kassandra Bursch also competed in the Gold division, helping the team earn tenth place in team awards.

Cara Lake placed fifth on bars (9.1) and sixth on vault (9.525) to earn tenth place all-around (35.375) in the Silver (Level 7) division, age 14 and over group. In the event finals she won bronze on bars (9.15) and placed sixth on vault (9.225). Taylor Brooks and Maddie Kruse also competed in the Silver division, in the age 10-11 group. Of the 33 girls in the group, Brooks finished seventh on balance beam (9.25) to qualify for that event final, where she earned sixth place (9.25). Kruse placed ninth on bars (9.225) in the preliminaries, and tenth (7.8) during event finals. Other EWA gymnasts in the Silver division were Allie Riggs and Hannah Warrick. EWA’s Silver team also took tenth place.

Lauren Sedillo, who competed in the Bronze division (level 5), won both floor exercise (9.675) and beam (9.35) in the preliminaries. She also placed second on vault (8.7) to earn the silver medal in the age 7-8 all-around with a score of 35.475. In the event finals, she repeated her placements of the day before, and become the National Champion on balance beam (9.525) and floor exercise (9.425), and silver medalist on vault (9.075).

In the 9 to 10-year-old group, Morgan Scott qualified to event finals on three events by earning fifth on beam (9.35) and vault (9.05), and seventh on floor (9.475). In the finals she took eighth place on vault (8.8), and tenth on floor (9.175) and beam (8.675). In the same age group, Allison Dutcher earned tenth place on beam (9.2) in the preliminaries and sixth place (9.325) in the balance beam finals. Eleven-year-old Miranda Jones qualified to finals by taking fifth on floor (9.45) and bars (8.55). In finals she took bronze on bars (8.55) and fifth place on floor exercise (9.325). All four girls contributed to the ninth place team win.

Coach Kirby was pleased with the results. “We had a great showing at USAIGC Nationals this year with all the girls performing well and I couldn’t be happier.” He is assisted in coaching the team by Maria Garcia and Kassandra Bursch.

–END–