SEVERALl young Terrace gymnasts earned recognition for their clean flips and jumps at the zone championships in Prince George recently.
Lily Macdonald jumped into overall first place in the junior olympic three division, and Carissa Nenninger and Savannah Medeiros won awards for the best showing in a specific category.
Zones were May 12-14, and for Lily Macdonald, it is her consistency that won the day.
“She’s very consistent, she hits four for four (in her training) every week,” said coach Karl McPherson.
The quality that stands out, however, is the way that translates into her competitions.
“The way she trains is the way she competes. You have some kids who train really well, and they get to a meet and nerves and everything else comes into play, whereas she is very systematic in her training and she can transfer that to meets.
“That’s why she is always winning,” he said, adding that she has excelled at meets all year.
But McPherson says it is not that Macdonald doesn’t face feelings of nervousness, but rather she’s able to manage her nerves.
It’s something Macdonald herself confirmed, saying she felt really nervous in this last championship because that it was her last meet of the year.
Talking about her gold-winning vault performance, Macdonald shared some of the nerves she felt.
“Usually when I’m nervous, I bite my lip… so before I went, I bit my lip a lot,” she said.
But despite her nerves, Macdonald performed smoothly against the 19 other young gymnasts, winning first place in vault, second in both beam and floor, and third in bars.
Terrace’s Kaylee McCormick finished fourth in that same division, a noteworthy accomplishment since she’s the youngest competitor.
“For her to compete against kids that are two to three years older than her, in a category of 19 (competitors), and to end up fourth, that’s amazing for a seven-year-old,” McPherson said.
He added that McCormick is competing in level three this year, but she’s set to jump straight into level seven because of her abilities and eagerness.
“She’s ready… and she wants it,” he said.
Terrace’s two older gymnasts, Nenninger and Medeiros, both took awards in the junior level six division.
Nenninger won the award for the best overall vault performance.
“In vault you’re looking for power and dynamics, and she hit it,” said McPherson, adding that the dynamics of her performance were amazing.
“It’s very fast, very powerful, and it’s clean,” he said. “The legs were together, (the body held) the right shape coming through and the landing was controlled — like she just hit, and didn’t move… perfect form,” he said.
Savannah Medeiros took third place in her beam competition, but also won the overall award for the best performance on the beam in her division.
McPherson explained that though her routine may not have had the top-level moves like the other two, it was her poise and dance elements that stood out.
“Her artistic impression is why she got the title, she’s beautiful to watch on beam,” said McPherson. Haydyn Taylor and Taeler Linteris also both won first in vault at the zone championship, which wraps up the gymnastics season.
Haydyn Taylor and Taeler Linteris also both won first in vault at the zone championship, which wraps up the gymnastics season.
