It is hard to believe another competitive season is coming to an end. As the State Meet concluded this weekend, marking the end of the season for many of our gymnasts, it is fun to look back at all that was accomplished...
Throughout the course of the season we saw growth and improvement from all levels of our team. We also saw success at every meet. We started and ended our season in Kansas City with meets in Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Colorado, Arkansas, and Minnesota in between. As a team, we saw a Pinnacle gymnast take the all around gold medal a total of 44 times prior to state. We also saw our teams finish in the top three 41 times. We saw first place finishes from our Junior Olympic Level 3, Level 5, Level 6, and Level 8 Teams along with our Xcel Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond Teams.
The success of the season continued at the 2019 Kansas State Meet. The State Meet took place March 15th-17th and the results are in:
For level 7-10 and Xcel Platinum and Diamond Gymnasts the State Meet serves as a qualifying meet to Region 3 Regional Championships. Regional meets consists of the top gymnasts from Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming. It is a huge privilege to earn a spot to represent Kansas and Pinnacle . Level 7 and 8 gymnasts qualify to their Regional Championships by earning one of the top All Around scores, while Xcel Platinum and Diamond athletes and Level 9 and 10 athletes earn their way by achieving a minimum of a 34.00 in the All Around. This season once again proved to be a success with Pinnacle qualifying the most gymnasts in their history to the Regional Championships. Pinnacle will proudly have 30 gymnasts competing in Regional meets.
Regional Qualifiers include:
Level 7 - Abby T, Addison K, Annie S, Lily S, Kennedy H, Maya C, Payton S, Sophia B, Taylor W
Level 8 - Alex W, Amaiya M, Andi W, Avery W, Gabby B, Lia L, Shae R
Level 9 - Adison R, Elyse P, Grace H, Jenna W
Xcel Platinum - Emma C, Eva W, Kaia G, Kaitlyn T, Sami L, Kadence P
Xcel Diamond - KaelinD, Kaitlin L, Kayla M, Raina C
Beyond the Numbers
While medals and team banners are fun and exciting, success is not measured by scores or placements. Success is much more! Success is seeing gymnasts change from shy and nervous to confident and excited. Success is seeing teammates turn into family. Success is traveling, laughing, smiling, and making memories. Success is being confident, resilient, and aiming for excellence. We saw all of that. We enjoyed a season full of positive coaching, happy gymnasts, and parents who were dedicated to supporting their gymnasts. We couldn't ask for more than that!
This year we also watched Haley Minor pursue her dream of becoming a college gymnast at the University of Wisconsin Osh-Kosh. Haley helped her team earn a spot at the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) Championship. In addition, we continued to watch Sophomore, Kasey Meeks compete for Illinios and be named to the All-Big Tens Team. We could not be more proud of these two young ladies.
For our regional qualifiers, there are still goals to accomplish this year and we wish them the best of luck. As for our our other team members, they are ready to begin learning new skills and getting stronger for the next season. Our athletes continue to amaze us as they grow, improve, and set new Pinnacle records each year.