Ten gymnasts from North Bay Gymtrix Women’s Provincial team travelled just before Christmas to compete at the first of three provincial qualifiers held in Burlington. Competing in the Level 8 - 16+ category were teammates Victoria Desfosses and Emily Mah – North Bay’s top level gymnasts.
Desfosses won four medals including Silvers in the balance beam and floor exercise events and Bronzes in the Vault and in the All Around (overall). Mah was the bronze medalist in the both the Uneven Bars Balance Beam events and finished in 4th place in the all around. In the Level 7 14-15B category, Kaylee Tench was the Silver medalist in the Vault event, while twin sister Koral Tench was the Silver medalist in the Balance Beam event.
Teammate Vanessa Perrault finished just behind teammate Koral and brought home the Bronze medal for her routine in the Balance Beam event. Competing in the Level 7 age 14-15A group, Tessa Tripodi finished 6th in the Floor Exercise event. Kali Champagne had solid performances on both the Balance Beam and Floor Exercise in the level 6 age 11 group earning two Bronze medals. Kali finished 6th in the all-around out of a tough field of 16 gymnasts.
Newcomer to the Provincial stream, Keala Wright was 12th on the Floor Exercise in the Level 6 age 11 group.
Also competing for the first time in the Provincial stream was Abby Champagne and Riley Legros. Abby competed a brand new floor routine earning her a 5th place finish on that event in the Level 6 age 13 category. Legros competed in the Level 6 age 14 group and was 5th on the Balance Beam.
Coach Tara Alger and Marc Pilon were pleased with the results.
“The team has worked very hard this season, especially new comers Abby Champagne, Keala Wright and Riley Legros to the Provincial stream. We travelled to Burlington knowing some of the best clubs in Ontario would be there.
"To have athletes hit the podium competing amongst the best clubs in Ontario is very exciting,” said Alger.
The Gymtrix Women’s team will attend two additional Qualifying competitions this season to determine the top 32 athletes in each category who will move forward to Ontario Championships in April.
