From:TheBahamasWeekly.com
Bahamas Star Gymnastics Return with Trove of Medals
By Gymnastics Bahamas
Mar 19, 2015 - 8:15:07 PM
Kym-Benay Greene, Level 3 gymnast of Bahamas Star Gymnastics wins All Around with score of 37.125. Greene also captured 1st place on Balance Beam (9.40 of 10) and Floor Exercise (9.525 of 10). She also medaled on Vault in 5th place (9.0 of 10) and 4th place on Uneven Bars (9.2 of 10). Photo courtesy of Bahamas Star Gymnastics.
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The star power of the gymnasts of Bahamas Star Gymnastics (BSG),
sponsored by Bahamas Gymnastics Parent Booster Club, mingled with
Bahamian pride boosted the team to a treasure-trove of medals, most of
which were first place medals. The twelve member team competed in Lake
Mary, Florida over the past weekend at the 2015 Leprechaun Classic which
promoted an Irish St. Patrick’s Day theme.
Three petite and
dainty gymnasts sparked the trend of first place individual and
All-Around finishes. In the first session, Rhianna Smith in her age
division, sprinted and completed handstands for first place on Vault
each scoring 9.20 (of 10). Teammates Tanitra Armbrister and Taevia
Wright in another age division duplicated Smith’s score of 9.20 and tied
for first place on Vault. Armbrister’s and Wright’s two way tie on
Vault augurs well for Team BSG . Smith continued the first place trend
by picking up additional first place medals on Balance Beam (9.30) and
Floor Exercise (9.225). Armbrister’s second place (35.90) All Around
ranking in her age division, was solidly backed by her second place on
Uneven Bars (9.20). Wright’s fifth place All Around (35.175) secured the
team’s second place in the Level 1 Team standing where top three scores
count.
Amanda Rahming, who was the sole competitor in Level 2, recently
switched over to Level 2 after competing in the Xcel division in
December. Also in her first appearance at a competitive meet abroad,
Rahming racked up first place finishes on Vault (9.25), Balance Beam
(9.60) and Floor Exercise (9.45 ) to top the podium in first place in
her age division in the All-Around standing (37.475). Unassuming
Rahming’s AA score was the highest for her team and her personal best on
individual apparatus including her fourth place on Uneven Bars (9.175).
Led by “pint sized” Soraya Halkitis, Kym-Benay Greene and
Cheyanne Powell, level 3 gymnasts were rocking and ready to continue the
trend started by their novice competitors. Halkitis, with an AA score
of 37.050, won first place All-Around and not only matched her teammate
Kym-Benay Greene (37.125) to double first place All-Around in separate
age divisions but also matched her brother Kiran Halkitis who
simultaneously won first place in the Under 14 Chess Tournament in
Nassau. “Happy warrior” Halkitis has been a head turner in the sport for
some time and performed brilliantly to a season high of 9.650 for a
first place on Balance Beam and thereby shattering her 9.60 score at
Atlantis Crown meet in December on Paradise Island on the event. “Giant
courage” Greene who teamed up with Halkitis last season at 2014 Magical
Classic to walk away with double second place All Around crowns,
championed her way to first place on Balance Beam (9.40) and Floor
Exercise (9.525). “Power packed” Powell, who competed Xcel division in
December at Atlantis Crown, powered to second place on Uneven Bars
(8.95), Balance Beam (9.35) and Floor Exercise (9.0) to third place in
the All-Around ranking for her age division. Without Powell’s
contribution, the second place Level 3 Team award would have been denied
as top three scores count.
Level 8 competitor, Athalia “Tally” Swann, who rounded out day one of
the competition, continued her come-back season by mustering a
difficult Tsukahara for first place on Vault (9.450) and third place on
Floor Exercise (9.20) to fifth place All Around (36.325). Swann’s AA
score is the highest for any currently competing Level 8 in the country
and historically. Last month, Swann also exceeded her compatriots in the
sport when she competed Level 8 at the Beach Blast Gymnastics
Competition in South Carolina to a
third place All Around ranking
(34.325), fighting back from a debilitating injury that caused her to
be sidelined for part of last season. Denied a chance to bid for the
Pan-Am Championship last September because of the age factor (Swann is
fifteen and needed to be seventeen to meet the age qualification), Swann
hopes to compete for the Bahamas at one of the junior world events for
which she qualifies as her skill level and scores exceeds those of both
Level 8 members of the historic national team. Known for her foot speed
and past track successes, Swann’s vaulting skills are almost as sharp as
if she never missed a beat. This QC Comet channeled some of the taste
of victory enjoyed by her school in defeating SAC to inspire her
rejuvenation in the sport.
On the second day of competition, Madisson Deveaux took the baton
from her teammates to carry on the first place trend for the team by
“blocking off” to first place on Vault (8.550) and All Around (34.550)
in Level 4. Amazing Deveaux tumbled with grace and artistry to second
place (8.80) on Floor Exercise. In the same age division for Level 4,
Deveaux’s teammate Sanaa Saunders “kipped” to third place on Uneven Bars
(8.525) and “pivot turned” to third place on Balance Beam (8.975).
Candace Murphy’s athleticism “casted” her to second place on Uneven Bars
(9.225) and fourth place All Around (35.675). Summer Sturrup skillfully
executed her turns, aerials and leaps to a first place on Balance Beam
(9.450) and power tumbled to second place on Floor Exercise (9.20).
Less than ten percent of competitors in Level 4 scored above a 9.0 and
BSG’s gymnasts Murphy and Sturrup were among the few to exceed the
threshold. Together, Deveaux, Saunders, Murphy and Sturrup rounded out
the two day competition with second place in the Level 4 Team standing.
“This is our best meet of the season and the entire team of gymnasts
and coaches are to be congratulated. To have these types of successes
abroad is testamentary to the hard work invested. While this meet
celebrated the luck of the Irish, we train our gymnasts to understand
that it’s hard work not luck or raw talent which secures the best spots
on the medal podium. We are celebrating each success made possible by
hard work,“ acclaims Co-Head Coach Kachara Marshall who heads the
squad’s coaching staff which includes dance coach Idania Garcia-Stroud
and staff coach Tenille Thompson.
Bahamas Star Gymnastics in
conjunction with Bahamas Gymnastics Parent Booster Club (“BGPBC”) hopes
to close out the season with their annual inter-squad meet in April.
BGPBC will also host a Steak Out on March 28 to raise funds in an effort
to defray travel costs for the further training of gymnasts and
coaches.
In her first meet abroad, Rhianna Smith captured first place All Around with a score of 36.80 (of 40). She swept first place finishes on Vault (9.2 of 10), Balance Beam (9.30 of 10) and Floor Exercise (9.225 of 10) and 3rd place on Uneven Bars (9.075 of 10). Photo courtesy of Bahamas Star Gymnastics.
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Athalia “Tally” Swann flashes a victory smile after medaling to first place on Level 8 Vault (9.450) by executing difficult Tsukahara in a comeback season after injury sidelined her for part of previous season. Photo courtesy of Bahamas Star Gymnastics.
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