Apollo gymnasts rock in Sudbury

SUDBURY, ON. - The Apollo Gymnastics competitive team, consisting of 22 athletes, traveled to Sudbury for the annual Raise the Bar Challenge held this past weekend. The team returned home with 4 all-around titles, a combined accumulation of 74 medals and the "Best Sportsmanship" award.

First time competitors David Conway, Addison Hunt and Sam Aubet had an incredible finish in the Men’s Interclub 1 division. Conway won 3 silver medals and a gold medal on high bar, floor, pommels and all-around. Hunt won 2 bronze, a gold on pommels and rings, and a silver medal on floor, rings and all-around. Aubet finished 3rd over-all after acquiring 4 bronze medals, a gold on pommels and a silver medal on rings and parallel bars.

Matthew Perreault and Jack Chadbourne competed in the provincial one men’s division. Perreault won a gold on pommels and bronze on floor, rings and all-around. Chadbourne won silver on pommels, rings and high bar and a bronze on parallel bars.

Level 2 athletes, Lia Mai Perry, 7, and Angela Green, 8, received gold, silver, bronze or merit seals based on scores in lieu of ranking, as per Gymnastics Ontario regulations. Perry received a gold seal for her outstanding score on the uneven bars, and a silver seal for beam, floor and over-all. Green received a bronze seal on beam and floor and won a silver seal in the all-around.

Carly Gagne, Emma McArthur, Jesslynn Emms, Christina Goode and Zoey Polhill competed in the level 2, age 9 Division. Gagne took home 4 medals after winning vault, bars and the level 2 title. She also won and a silver on floor.

McArthur wore 3 medals around her neck, including a silver medal on floor and a bronze for bars and all-around. Emms won a silver medal on vault and beam and a bronze over-all. Goode was the gold medalist on vault and the bronze medalist on floor. Polhill wore a silver medal for her performance on vault and beam.

Rylee Lamothe, 14, won a gold medal on floor and received a silver medal on vault, beam and all-around in the level 3 division.

In the level 3, age 11 Category, Trista Hester won a bronze medal for her performance on vault and was the silver medalist on the balance beam, floor and over-all. Teammate Sydney Knight placed 4th on vault and floor, finishing the day with an over-all score of 40.75.
Taylor Lamothe was the silver medalist on beam and the bronze medalist on vault in the level 3, age 12 division.
Mackechnie Chadbourne, 13, won silver for her outstanding performance on the uneven bars and floor exercise. She also received a bronze medal on beam and over-all in the level 4 division.

Meagan Hester took the level 4, age 10 Title after winning a bronze medal on bars, and earning a gold on beam and floor. Her success on each event secured her gold medal finish in the all-around. Chloe Hunt also had an exceptional finish, winning a gold medal on bars, silver on vault and bronze in the all-around.

Apollo’s provincial team, consisting of 10-year-old Taylor Vaillancourt, 13-year-old Victoria Willars and 12-year-old Katie Vaillancourt had a successful meet. Taylor was the silver medalist on beam and the bronze medalist on bars with an incredible score of 11.55. Willars won a gold medal on bars, a bronze on beam and floor and finished the day with a silver medal all-around. Katie brought home 5 medals around her neck and the level 5, age 11 and 12 Title. She won gold on bars, silver on vault and beam, bronze on floor and gold in the all-around.

“I am very impressed with how well everyone did at this competition,” said Coach Jen Lavigne. “These athletes train hard and it is nice to see them get recognition for their efforts.”

Front Row: Zoey Polhill, Matthew Perreault, David Conway, Sam Aubet, Addison Hunt, Jack Chadbourne, Angela Green

Middle Row: Emma McArthur, Carly Gagne, Christina Goode, Jesslynn Emms, Lia Mai Perry.

Last Row: Taylor Lamothe, Mackechnie Chadbourne, Victoria Willars, Katie Vaillancourt, Trista Hester, Sydney Knight, Meagan Hester, Taylor Vaillancourt, Rylee Lamothe, Chole Hunt.

Photo and story submitted to BayToday.ca