Jacksonville Gymnastics keeps winning
By Chad Matchett \ Sports Editor \ sports@jacksonvillepatriot.com
Thursday, January 31, 2008 10:54 AM CST
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| JACKSONVILLE GYMNASTICS keep bringing home trophies from meets all over the state. Above are the youngest level of gymnasts who compete for the team at level three at Huff n’ Puff in Jacksonville. |
The Jacksonville Gymnastics competitive team is continuing its tradtion of being one of the best and largest teams in the state.
Jacksonville is part of USA Gymnastics and draws gymnasts from all over central Arkansas to work out at Huff n’ Puff gym.
Gymnasts travel from Sheridan, Bryant, Searcy, Beebe, Conway, North Little Rock and several other cities to be a part of the Jacksonville team.
Competitive gymnastics runs in levels from three to ten. Level nine gymnasts have to practice hundreds of hours and work hard for years to reach that peak.
Kayla Edgin, 14, is the first level nine gymnast to compete for Jacksonville. Edgin was the state champion in the floor exercise as a 10-year-old at level six. She moved up to level seven the next year and has worked her way up the ladder since then.
With one of the largest teams in the state, Jacksonville has gymnasts competing - and winning - at almost every level of competition.
Jacksonville has brought home 17 first place trophies in four meets this season, most recently competing in Pine Bluff. The team won first place trophies for levels four, five and six. No team trophy was given for level three, but Jacksonville easily had the most points for that level.
The level seven team finished in third place, while the level eight team finished in second place. Edgin finished in second place in the all-around competition. Level nine and ten gymnasts almost always compete for individual awards only. There are rarely enough gymnasts at those levels to make a full team. Over 300 gymnasts competed for trophies in Pine Bluff.
The level six team has won three first place trophies this season. Level six is considered maybe the hardest level technically because judges want the gymnasts to be well-prepared before they are moved up to the optional levels - level seven and up. Optional gymnasts compete their individual routines that are choreographed for them personally by their coaches and compete using more difficult skills.
There are not many gymnasts at level six in the state, and most of this season’s sevel six gymnasts for the Jacksonville team were level five gymnasts last season and won the state championship for that level. The seven gymnasts range in age from eight to fifteen. Ten-year old Kendra Lytch scored an excellent 9.8 on her floor exercise at the last meet.
Coaches may move gymnasts up to the next level at the end of the summer training schedule, so each of the levels consists of mostly new gymnasts.
