HR gymnasts come home with hardware from Hawaii event

Three Hood River Middle School students representing Riverside Gymnastics Academy (RGA) from The Dalles competed in the 41st Ahoha GymFest Jan. 14-15 in Kailua, Hawaii. RGA competed with gymnasts from Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, England, Canada, Japan and other Mainland clubs. All three girls compete at the optional level, which ranges from Level 6-10 using a 10.0 scoring system with a 10.0 considered a “perfect score.” Poppy Miller, eighth grade, competed in the Level 7, Junior B division and had a great showing for only her second Level 7 competition. She placed fifth on beam with a 9.150 and fifth on vault with an 8.8. Nina Sanchez, eighth grade, competed in the Level 6, Junior C division, placing second on vault with an 8.750 and second on bars with an 8.950. Sanchez’ performance placed her second on the podium with an all-around score of 36.10. Jacy Johnston, sixth grade, competed Level 6, Junior A division, where she scored a personal best of 9.650 on beam, landing her in first place as the beam champion. Her beam score also placed her on the list for “2017 America’s Top 100.” She was also the vault champion, receiving first place with a score of 9.1. Johnston finished third in all-around, scoring a 36.10.