After nearly two years of covid restriction which prohibited Connecticut gymnasts from traveling to out-of-state competitions, competing in front of a live audience, or against other competitors from all over the country, the gymnasts of Kratos Gymnastics of Bethel, CT took part in their first competition of 2022! From January 7th-9th girls from all over the country traveled to Boston for the Brestyan’s Invitational hosting gymnasts ranging from levels 2-10 & Xcel Bronze - Diamond.
For many members of the Kratos competitive program, it was their first competition ever! All performed with poise and determination to shine!
Highlights:
Level 7 gymnast Lydia Hodge of Bethel took part as a first time level 7 competitor. After only two and a half years of gymnastics experience, Lydia stunned the judges and all those in attendance by performing skills of the highest difficulty allowable within her level.
She closed out the competition on Floor exercise, displaying an exquisite routine which earned her a near-perfect score of 9.8, the highest score of any gymnast on any event in her level! Her high score also ranked her 4th amongst “America’s Top 100” gymnasts for level 7! Despite having a fall on both bars and beam, she was awarded 6th place on vault, 7th on beam, 1st on floor, and 5th All-Around.
Level 2 gymnast Sophia Thompson of Westport displayed poise as one of the youngest competitors of the weekend placing 2nd on balance beam!
For the majority of the Xcel Bronze competitors, it was their very first competition!
Competitors included:
-Taylor Bikowski of Wilton, CT
-Gracie Clifford, of New Milford, CT: Placing 8th on vault, 9th on beam, 1st on floor, and 6th AA
-Riley DeShay of Newtown, CT
-Ellie Domingos of Brookfield, CT: Placing 5th on beam, and 7th on floor
-Ziva Mathivanan of Bethel, CT: Placing 1st on vault, 1st on floor and 3rd AA and also receiving a special judges award for her beautiful performance on floor
-Sofia Nascimento of Danbury, CT
-Nicolle Sloboda of Redding, CT: Placing 4th on vault, 2nd on bars, 3rd on beam, 2nd on floor and 1st all-around
Xcel Silver competitors included
-Rhayane Delima of Danbury, CT
-Cora Diamond of Ridgefield, CT: Placing 6th on bars & 2nd on beam
-Norah Michaels of Newtown, CT
-Sarah Rodin of Monsey, NY: Placing 4th on vault, 1st on bars, 3rd on beam, and 2nd AA
Xcel Gold competitors all had their very first meet in the level having just moved up from Xcel Silver!
Competitors included:
-Addison Delaney of Brookfield, CT: Placing 7th on beam
-Lilli Nelson of New Fairfield, CT: Placing 4th on vault
-Caitlin Riina of New Fairfield, CT: Placing 3rd on beam
This weekend the girls of Kratos make their way to Atlantic City, NJ for the Star Struck Invitational! You can follow their competitive updates on instagram @Kratos_gymnastics_usa or on Facebook at @kratosgymnasticsusa