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closeLocal gymnasts show skills at regionals
After stellar performance in Spokane, a host of gymnasts advance to Nationals on May 9 and 10 in St. Louis, Missouri
Shaun Scott
A quartet of club gymnasts are taking their talents to Nationals in St. Louis.
Local high school-aged gymnasts Chelsey Haskey and Alison Fent of Grace Gymnastics and Elizabeth and Rachel Miller of Puget Sound Gymnastics put forth prolific marks at Region 2 Gymnastics competition on April 20 in Spokane — resulting in a trip to Level 9 Western Nationals this weekend.
They competed against girls from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Hawaii, Alaska and Montana during the regional competition.
Haskey, who is a ninth grader at Aylen Junior High School, earned first place in bars, fifth place in beam, second place in floor and third in the all around portion.
“Chelsey is wonderful on the bars. I’m not surprised she was the regional champ in that event,” Grace Gymnastics coach Jackie Bellmer said. “Chelsey’s a great competitor and does a good job of performing well under pressure. She’s an amazing kid who works hard. That’s a great combination.”
Alison Fent captured sixth place in bars, fifth place in beam, second place in floor and sixth place in the all around portion.
“Alison is a great competitor. I’ve worked with hundreds of kids and she is probably the hardest working kid I’ve ever been around,” Bellmer said. “She deserves everything she gets and is an awesome role model for the other gymnasts. She’s one of the most consistent athletes we have.”
Elizabeth and Rachel Miller also punched their respective tickets to Nationals in their favorite events. The Millers are twins and are currently sophomores at Rogers High School.
Elizabeth Miller nabbed second place in vault, fourth place in bars and beam and fifth in the all around portion. Rachel Miller took sixth place in vault and fifth place in floor.
“They both have battled injuries this year and have overcome that together,” Puget Sound Gymnastics coach Brad Loan said. “Elizabeth has been injured all year long. She had a wrist injury but I think in a way it may have been a blessing in disguise. When all of the other competitors were tired at regionals, she was fresh and had a great finish. It’s kind of the same thing with Rachel. She had a hamstring pull earlier in the season and ended up being well rested and came on strong at regionals.”
Loan said he’s looking forward to seeing how the Miller’s perform at Nationals this coming weekend.
“They’ve been training hard,” Loan said. “They’re ready to make their presence felt at Nationals.”