This was the forth meet for eNeRGy girls team this year. This event was hosted on home turf. Natalie bested her overall performance from the previous week. Scoring on Vault: 8.425 (6th), Bars: 9.275 (4th), Beam: 9.275 (2nd), Floor: 9.525 (3rd), and All Around: 36.500 (3rd). The Prep Op Gold team placed 2nd to a very good team from Durham named Bull City Gymnastics. We’ll need to keep any eye on these Bulls City girls they are super tough!
This was the third meet for eNeRGy girls team this year. This event was hosted at the Greensboro Collesium. Natalie landed her best overall performance of the season. Scoring on Vault: 8.450 (N/A), Bars: 9.125 (7th), Beam: 9.225 (4th), Floor: 9.500 (2nd), and All Around: 36.300 (5th).
Eli was awarded his Junior Yellow belt. He has worked hard at his new dojo. Below is a video from his belt test.
This was the 2nd eNeRGy girls meet for the season and was hosted and held in the eNeRGy facility in Raleigh. The Prep Op Gold team had a good showing landing 1st place overall. Natalie scores were; Vault: 8.450 (7th), Bars: 8.675 (7th), Beam: 9.100 (3rd), Floor: 9.350 (1st), and All Around: 35.575 (3rd).
We have been in the constant pursuit of an activity that suits Eli. I think we have finally found a fit.
For the last few years, we have driven past the Ichiban Karate School and thought “hummm, I wonder”. Finally Shelley was motivated one day to stop in a check out the facilities. They offered a 2 week trail for $20. You could attend as many classes as you would like. Shelley and Eli packed in as many as they could manage. The main instructor, Renshi, has quite the knack of making the instruction fun. The kids seem to enjoy the conditioning.
Eli is in the “Little Dragon’s” age group. He has been quick to pick up the basic skills and has progressed quickly. He was just recently awarded the Yellow Belt Junior Grade. The attached video shows the awards ceremony.
[simage=1299,512,y,center,][simage=1300,512,y,center,][simage=1302,512,y,center,][simage=1296,512,y,center,][simage=1304,512,y,center,][simage=1305,512,y,center,]
This event was Five Star’s first event in Bardstown, KY this season. The “My Old Kentucky Hom Invitation was hosted at Nichols County High School. The level four team had a reasonable showing with Brooklyn landing a 1st place finish in the bars and Natalie taking a 3rd place finish in the floor routine. Kate had the level 4 high overall score with a 35.5. This meet was particularly tough because their were eighteen girls classified in the 9 year old bracket.
[simage=1243,512,y,center,][simage=1244,512,y,center,][simage=1245,512,y,center,][simage=1252,512,y,center,][simage=1259,512,y,center,]
This competition was hosted by Champion Gymnastics in Louisville.
[simage=1036,512,y,center,][simage=1038,512,y,center,][simage=1039,512,y,center,][simage=1048,512,y,center,][simage=1044,512,y,center,]
This was the second meet of the year for the 5 Star Gymnastics team. It was hosted by Top Flight Gymnastics at Randle Cooper High School. This meet was more widely attended and reunited 5 Star with two very tough squads (Legacy Gymnastics and Top Flight). The team’s event rotation was beam, vault, floor and bars. Below you will find event videos for Natalie on all four events.
This was the first meet of the year for the 5 Star Gymnastics team. It was hosted by Champion Gymnastics. This meet was more widely attended and reunited 5 Star with two very tough squads (Legacy Gymnastics and Top Flight). The team’s event rotation was beam, vault, floor and bars. Below you find videos of Natalie and the level 4 team scores.
Last weekend, the Wykles made a trip to Hagerstown, Maryland to attend the wedding of my brother Corey Morgan and his lovely finance Jodi Bowman. We left early on Friday to make the 7.5 hour car trip to Hagerstown. The trip was uneventful as expected. The ceremony was planned to be a small and intimate with only immediate family and a few close friends. On Friday evening we all headed over to Corey and Jodi’s house to check out all of the byproduct of all of the sweat/tears that has been invested in their 1920’s home. After a tour, the group headed out for dinner and then back to Corey/Jodi’s house to unwrap some wedding gifts.
[simage=723,512,y,center]
[simage=724,512,y,center]
Saturday arrived and the big day was here. We got moving early and decided to get a little exercise prior to heading over the ceremony. The kids hit the pool and Shelley and I tried to keep up with a little treadmill and P90X action. Needless to say, we didn’t execute our timing as we had hoped. We were late leaving the hotel and didn’t realize that the ceremony was 30 minutes away from Hagerstown. Time to drive like a bat out of hell! We arrive at what we thought was 20 minutes late at the Purple Iris at Hartwood in Martinsburg, WV. Thankfully, we made it in plenty of time and a service didn’t kick off until shortly after 12 PM. Whew! That would have been a had one to live down.
[simage=726,512,y,center]
[simage=729,512,y,center]
[simage=772,512,y,center]
[simage=775,512,y,center]
[simage=777,512,y,center]
The venue was beautiful and the weather was picture perfect. The couple provided a string trio for everyone’s musical enjoyment. The ceremony was an outdoor service and was delivered in an expedient fashion. The ceremony was officiated by Pastor Debra and featured a hand fasting ritual.
[simage=741,512,y,center]
[simage=746,512,y,center]
[simage=750,512,y,center]
[simage=778,512,y,center]
[simage=754,512,y,center]
After the ceremony many pictures were taken of all of the attendees. I have included a few of my own that were taken along side the professional photographer. Many more can be located in the photo album.
[simage=779,512,y,center]
[simage=756,512,y,center]
[simage=759,512,y,center]
To wrap up the perfect day, the couple hosted a lunch reception inside the beautiful Hartwood Mansion. Ordeuvres were served and the attendees were encouraged to sign the guest plate. The plate will capture all of the signatures and will be fired in order to preserve the memory.
Saturday (04/18/09) marked the end of a very productive gymnastics season for the 5 Star Gymnastics level 3 team. The 5th and final meet took place in Hopkinsville, KY at Angles Gym. This meet wraps up the season as the KY State USGA meet. After a very shaky start, Natalie found her resolve and secured two first place finishes in the floor exercise and vault.
Uneven Bars – The day started out on the infamous uneven bars. This event has proven to be the most sketchy over the 5 meets this season. Natalie was lead-off and delivered a solid routine. No major blunders and a nice stuck landing. It appeared to be a foundation routine for the team to capitalize on. Then the score…8.65? Not what we were expecting. Natalie was visibly disturbed and even showed a few tears. The rest of the team’s scores hovered around mid 8’s with Kate pulling the top score with a 9.1. The 5 Star faithful took a deep breath and knew it was going to be a long day with scoring this tight.
Balance Beam – The next event was the balance beam. This has clearly been Natalie’s strongest event all season and should help to erase the unpleasantness of the bars. Kate and Brooklyn mustered 9.15 and 9.125 respectively. Natalie was the anchor member for this event. She had a beautiful mount and a nice Arabesque. Her handstand was one of the best I’ve seen her perform. She continued through the routine to the pivot and proceeded to execute her split jump. The jump was very nice with good height. She appeared to land fine, but her balance was off, sending her off the front side of the beam. This was her first fall in a competition…and her expression after remounting the beam says it all. She managed to finish her dismount but ran off sobbing towards the coach. She still managed an 8.8 even with the fall (0.5 point deduction).
As the team waited to move to the next event, Natalie was quite upset. Many people tried to console and encourage her. Both Shelley and I stayed out of the mix in order not to exacerbate the situation. Natalie appeared to regain her composure enough to move to the next event. BTW – At the conclusion of the meet, we found out that coach Terri had to finally issue a little tough love to Natalie. She told her that she would not be allowed to continue with the meet until she pulled herself together. Nicely done coach!
Floor Exercise – The floor routine was the next event on the rotation. Natalie had a solid routine and landed her best score (9.45) of the season.
Vault – The vault was the final event. Natalie carried her new found attitude to the vault and landed again her best score (9.35) of the season.
After the very questionable start, the Level 3 team put together a good showing for this season ending meet. Natalie finished the day with two first place finishes for the floor and vault in the 8JR age group. The floor and vault scores pulled her through in the all around to capture a respectable 5th place. She was beaming!
[simage=669,512,y,left]
[simage=672,512,y,left]
[simage=675,512,y,left]
[simage=679,512,y,left]
[simage=684,512,y,left]
[simage=685,512,y,left]
Sunday (03/15/09) was the forth competition, Champion’s 17th Annual Derby Classic, attended by the Level 3 team from 5-Star Gymnastics this season. The meet was held in Louisville, KY at the MidAmerican Sports Complex and hosted by Champion Gymnastics. Today we were lucky to have a mid-day start. The level 3 team didn’t need to be at the gym until 12:30. We were able to make the 2 hour trek the morning of the competition. We were lucky to have Nagi in town so that she may take part in the activities.
Again, Natalie set a goal for herself prior to the start of the meet. She wanted to score a least a 9 on every event.
This meet started out with the balance beam. Natalie anchored the routine and had a very solid performance. She completed the routine within the event time and without significant balance checks. She posted a 9.35 which was the second highest score for the team on this event.
The team moved on to floor exercise, Natalie went in the last half of the event rotation. She had an average routine without any major errors. She scored a 9.1 and left the floor smiling.
The next event was the vault. Natalie was placed in the middle of the rotation. Here first vault didn’t appear to get the best height or distance, but the landing was solid. The second vault showed better form but had a small step on the landing. She squeaked out a 9.05…so far 3 for 3, now on to the dreaded uneven bars.
This event has consistently been the toughest and most prone to major mistakes. The bars would not test the 5 Star team today. Only a few mistakes were committed with Brooklyn taking the top position in the event with a 9.3. Natalie scored a solid 9.1.
On to the awards ceremony. Natalie and Brooklyn are both classified in the 8 JR age group. There were 11 girls competing in their specific age category. Given the size of this competition, the awards given were to be issued to only the top 50% (+1) of each age group. For the 8 JR group that would be the top 6 places in each event would be given recognition. This is a significant change from the 3 previous competitions and would be quickly noticed by the 5 Star team as the award ceremony started. It was clear by the facial expressions that the girls were clearly confused that everyone did not get an award. Welcomed to the big time ladies!
Natalie placed 2nd in the beam and 4th in the bars. Brooklyn scored a 1st in bars and 5 in beam. Natalie’s consistency across all 4 events afforded her a 5th place all-around in what appeared to be one of the toughest age groups. In a continuing moment of misunderstanding, Natalie was visibly upset (crying on the podium) due to the lack of awards for her and the team. See the picture below for a “upset face” that was a product of this building frustration. Shelley and I were quick to explain the situation regarding the scoring/awards system for this large competition. This will be a lesson for the future.
Then the team awards. The top three gyms were awarded team trophies. Legacy placed 1st with a 113.8, Champion placed 2nd with a 112.75, Todds scored 111.45 and landed them in 3rd. The 5 Star team placed 4th with a 110.7. Overall, a great showing for the 5 Star team and should be a good motivator for the last push to the state tournament in April.
Here is a recap of the scores of the entire level 3 5-Star team.
You can find videos of each of Natalie’s events: balance beam, floor exercise, vault, and bars.
[simage=638,512,y,left]
[simage=642,512,y,left]
[simage=643,512,y,left]
[simage=649,512,y,left]
[simage=654,512,y,left]
[simage=655,512,y,left]
[simage=662,512,y,left]
[simage=663,512,y,left]