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Fountain of Success for Darien YMCA Gymnasts at National Championships

The Darien YMCA gymnastics team competed in the YMCA National Gymnastics Championship Meet in Savannah, GA from June 26-28th. More than 2,000 gymnasts competed in the meet, which was themed the "Fountain of Possibilities."  With one of the largest teams in the meet, at the Olympic-style opening ceremonies in Forsyth Park, Darien gymnasts stood out in their neon pink t-shirts and flashing sunglasses. Competition began on the 27th, and so did Darien's success. Individual National All Around (AA) title winners included Nicole Carlo, Level 7; Dorothy Browning, Level 5; Jane Ogden, Level 5; Marya Von Schmidt, Platinum Excel Masters; and Wells Fischer, Level 4.

Level 9 and 10 gymnasts competed in the Championship division, and competed in preliminary, semifinal and final rounds for AA and individual events. In the Junior age group, Adnerys DeJesus, Stephanie Klokiw and Alissa Chan all earned medals by qualifying for the finals with DeJesus as the top scorer for the team in 11th place. In the event finals, Klokiw placed 4th on vault and 8th on floor. DeJesus placed 5th on vault and 9th on floor. In the Senior division, Hayley Holzinger also earned a medal by qualifying for the AA finals.

In the Level 8 competition, event awards were given at each session and the top 25 AA competed in the finals. Samantha Gunn qualified for the finals in the Senior age group, and finished in 13th AA. She also placed 3rd on bars, 6th on floor, 7th on beam and 8th on vault. Christina Brandt won the vault title with a 9.25 and placed 3rd on floor and 10th on bars. Mary Pat Murtagh placed 7th on floor, and 10th on vault and bars. In the Junior division, Kellie Arevalo placed 4th on bars and 10th on beam. Perri Mirabile earned 3rd on both vault and beam. Jessica Freiheit was 4th on vault and 7th on bars.

Awards for Levels 4-7 and Excel were given for AA and on each event to the top third of gymnasts in each age group: Child, Junior, Senior and Masters.

Competing at the highest Prep-Op level, Platinum Excel, Darien was led by Kajsa Lundeen in the Junior age group, who placed 2nd on vault, beam and AA and 4th on bars and floor. Julia Murray earned 3rd on beam while Sarah Petti was 3rd on bars. In the Senior group, Caroline Congdon was 6th on beam while Lauren Fusek placed 10th on floor. Von Schmidt, competing in the Masters division, swept the titles in all events, with a high score of 8.85  on floor.

Mary Pat Murtagh, Caroline Congdon and Marya Von Schmidt were honored as graduating seniors during a special ceremony at the meet.

At Level 7, Nicole Carlo won the Child age group AA title with an impressive 37.1 AA. She also placed 2nd on beam and bars, third on vault and 4th on floor. Kelsey Fedorko was right behind her in 2nd AA, and won the bars title with a 9.4 and the beam title with 9.5 and placed 3rd on floor. In the Junior age group, Charlotte Henry earned her meet high score on vault.
In the Child group in Level 6, Juliana Jordao placed 6th on floor and AA while Octavia Molkenthin earned her meet high score on beam. In the Junior group, Quin Wolters won the vault title with a high flying 9.2, and also placed 2nd on bars and AA, 3rd on floor and 5th on beam. Kaitlyn Moussignac earned 6th AA and on floor, 4th on bars and 7th on beam. Mackenzie Biele placed 2nd on beam and 7th on bars. Gianna Cardini was 4th on floor and 5th on beam. Earning their high scores for the meet were Lucy Holzinger on beam and Emma Hunter on bars. In the Senior age group, Elena Savas placed 2nd on bars and floor, 3rd AA and 6th on vault. Aisling Brock won the beam title with a rock solid 9.35 and was 5th AA and 6th on bars. Toni Cardini placed 7th on beam. Emma Hinton earned her meet high score on beam while Fiona Brock's was on floor. Stella Kamensky attended the meet but was unable to compete due to an injury.

In Level 5 Child group, Natalie Parker placed 2nd on vault and AA, 3rd on floor and 6th on beam. Christina Pizzani won the bars title with a 8.875 and placed 7th AA. Meghan Sisk earned her meet high score on vault. Dorothy Browning was the Junior group champion with a 35.75 AA and also won the beam and floor titles with scores of 9.3 and 9.275. She also placed 8th on both vault and bars. Lana Schmidt was 3rd AA and on beam, 4th on bars, 6th on vault and 7th on floor. Alexa Carrero was 5th on vault and Maeve Degulis was 6th on floor. Tess Keating earned her meet high score on bars. Kerry McDermott was off to a great start, but suffered an injury on bars and was unable to continue. Jane Ogden won the Senior group title with a 35.975 AA, placed 2nd on bars and beam, 3rd on floor and 4th on vault. Lily Fairleigh earned her top score on bars.

Level 4 gymnasts were led by Wells Fischer in the Child age group, who won the AA title with a 35.975, as well as the vault title with a 9.25. She also placed 2nd on bars and 5th on floor and beam. Kate Wolters was 5th AA, 2nd on vault and 4th on bars. Sommer Schmidt was 6th AA and 5th on bars. Tori Ware placed 3rd on beam. Earning their high scores for the meet on vault were Paige Domenici and Melina Cardini and Nima Rahbar on floor. In the Junior group, Holly McGoldrick was 3rd on vault and AA, 4th on beam and 6th on bars and floor. Dillan Aysseh placed 4th on bars and AA, 5th on floor and 6th on vault and beam. Charlotte Frank was 2nd on bars and 5th on beam and AA. Nicole Thompson ranked 6th AA while Lizzie Canelli placed 5th on vault. In the Senior group, Lilah Grant earned 5th place for her bar routine while house teammate Lindsey Wallach was 4th on vault.

The Darien Nationals gymnasts were coached by Vladimir and Valentina Kovalenko, Yury Vasilyev, Anatolie Vartosu and John Schwartz.


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