THUNDER BAY — Giant Gymnastics topped the podium at the 2024 Twisted Moose Gymnastics Meet this past weekend at the Minneapolis Convention Center amongst some of the best teams in the nation.
The Xcel Gold team performed like gold, with Eeva Pietila achieving 2nd on Floor and 4th All Around. Teammate Addison Tempelman had 4 top 5 finishes competing alongside teammate Aby Foulds, who finished with two top 5 places on beam and floor. Emma Ninivirta also placed third on vault and came fourth All Around. Isabel Boutotte had a high score of 9.10, placing her top 5 on floor and vault. Keavy Crocker competed for her first time with Giant Gymnastics and scored well on the floor with a 9.325. Sisters Elli and Ayla Mermans both scored 8.975 on the vault, and Elli scored 9.075 on the floor.
Giant Gymnastics is so impressed with their team’s progress this year, moving a significant amount of their gymnasts from the Xcel levels (Gold) to the Junior Olympic system. This level system is a path towards elite gymnastics, and the Giant team now has almost 85% of their team competing in this system. This makes them the only club in Northwestern Ontario to have a team consisting of Xcel Silver level all the way to Level 10 actively competing.
The Level 6 team had three first years in the level competing, and this meet was a success. Lyla Picard was the veteran on the team, coming second on vault and 5th overall. Teammates Sullivan Gallo placed 2nd all around, Sofie Gallo had a high score of 9.250, and her cohort Maci Falk tied with her on Floor. Their achievements brought home a 2nd place banner in just their first level 6 meet, with only four athletes competing against teams of 10 or more.
Ella Gasparotto placed 1st on Bars, 2nd on Floor, 3rd on Vault and 1st All Around in Level 7. Teammates Addison McGirr placed 2nd on Vault and 3rd on Beam. Malia Sutton placed 1st on Vault and 2nd All Around. Jade Shewchuk placed fourth all-around, followed by Arianna Sutton with a score of 9.375 on the Floor. This level 7 team again had only five athletes, having to count three scores on each event against much bigger teams pulled off a team award; this is no small feat for a higher level junior Olympic level.
The Level 8 team also topped the podium with Alyssa Blazino in second on vault, Deveyn Kayes third on Bars, fourth on Floor and fifth all around. Harper Lilley came sixth on beam and seventh on floor with a significant score improvement since her last meet ten days ago.
The Level 9 team had some personal best. Macy Gashinski killed it with fourth place on Vault with an amazing score of 9.075 and debuted her new piked Yurchenko. Grace Gaudino had a great placing with a 5th on Vault and 6th overall. Hannah Palko achieved seventh place on vault and top 8 place all around. New level 9 athlete Abby McGirr was the youngest competitor at just 11 years young and had an outstanding performance with full up-to-level routines and start values that were competitive amongst the older athletes. Her vault was notable, scoring 8.650.
Giant Gymnastics will head back to Minneapolis March 1st-3rd for the Northern Lights Competition, which features event finals for the top 8 Junior Olympic athletes in each level.
