On June 26th through the 29th, twenty-four gymnasts from the Greater Beverly YMCA’s North Shore Wildcats gymnastics team traveled to Savannah, GA to compete in the National YMCA Gymnastics Championship.
This was the first Nationals experience for the three level 6 gymnasts. Shelby Degrenier (Beverly) won first place on floor in her age group with a 9.1. Caroline Blatchford (Wenham) also won first place on floor in her age group with a 9.4 and came in 3rd all-around with a 36.225. Jessica Davis (Danvers) placed 3rd on vault with a 9.25.
For the level 7 competitors, Hannah Marescalchi (Beverly) set the tone for vault with a score of 9.2 (5th place). Sam Kinnaly (Peabody) placed 5th in the Senior age group on vault with a 9.4, her personal best. Madison Rennie (Beverly) also scored a 9.4, which resulted in a 2nd place win for the junior age group. Rennie won bars with a 9.25 and placed 2nd all-around (36.225). Kourtney Iacono (Gloucester) posted the highest vault score for her team (9.45) which landed her a first place win in the junior division. Iacono’s stuck beam routine put her in 2nd place (9.325) and helped her achieve 3rd all-around with a 36.125. Bailey DeGrenier (Beverly) did a beautiful floor routine and scored a 9.1 for 7th place. DeGrenier placed 8th all-around in the junior division with a 35.3. The Wildcats posted some notable uneven bar scores starting with Madison Monahan (Beverly) at an 8.3 for 8th place. Annika Dahlin (Beverly) swung high earning a 9.1 (6th place). Alahna Guy (Beverly) followed Dahlin’s lead and scored a 9.15 on bars, which put her in 5th place in the child division. Chloe Kavanagh (Beverly) came out on top in the senior age group with a 1st place win on bars (9.15), 3rd place on floor (9.35) and 4th all-around (36.5).
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At their first Nationals appearance, XCEL Platinum impressed the coaches with strong performances. Madeline Dahlin (Beverly) led the way with an 8.9 on vault (3rd place). Julia Bucci (Salem) had the best bar routine of her season and scored an 8.5 for 2nd place. Hannah Burns (Danvers) performed a beautiful floor routine and earned an 8.8 (6th place). Ashley Boudreau (Salem) danced her way to a 9.15 on floor and 5th place all-around.
The “Fierce Five” level 8 team started off on a bad note when Jenna Bonugli (Beverly) sprained her ankle in warm-ups. With the tough spirit of a true gymnast, Bonugli taped it up and decided to compete anyway. She set the tone with an excellent floor routine and scored an 8.725. Kara MacGilvray (Gloucester) kept the motivation going on floor with an 8.85. MacGilvray also stood up a powerful vault and placed 4th with a 9.1. Kate Jackimowicz (Peabody) completed a solid bar performance (8.2) followed by a stuck beam routine (8.925). Caitlin Clarizia (Lynnfield) had a nicely executed floor routine and scored a 9.1. Clarizia came in 7th on bars with an 8.8. Hannah Rennie (Beverly) came in 2nd place on bars (9.225) and 2nd place all-around (35.725), which advanced her to level 8 finals. The top 25 level 8 gymnasts from the Junior and Senior divisions had the opportunity to compete in a second day of competition otherwise known as finals.
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For the first time in three years the Wildcats had enough level 9’s attending Nationals to compete for a team score. Senior, Loralee Smith (Beverly), flipped an impressive vault for a score of 8.725. Smith showed off her floor routine for the crowd and earned an 8.65. Senior Adrianna Beatrice (Beverly) scored a 9.0 on vault and an 8.5 on floor. Jackie Veatch (Danvers) stood up a nice vault and scored an 8.9. Veatch’s high-energy floor routine scored an 8.825. As a team, the level 9 gymnasts placed 7th in the Championship Division, which included a mix of level 9 and level 10 competitors.
Head Coach Eva Van Ness, was accompanied by Assistant Head Coach Mike Frontierro, optional coach Jess Corneau, XCEL coach Becky Marique, and level 6 coach Shannon Schmitt. Van Ness stated, “We are all so proud of the gymnasts and their accomplishments at Nationals. They have worked hard this season so it was nice to see their routines come together. These young ladies know how to be great teammates. Their excellent sportsmanship does not go unnoticed.”
Beverly Gymnasts
Adrianna Beatrice, Alahna Guy, Annika Dahlin, Bailey DeGrenier, Chloe Kavanagh, Hannah Marescalchi, Hannah Rennie, Jenna Bonugli, Loralee Smith, Madeline Dahlin, Madison Monahan, Madison Rennie and Shelby DeGrenier
