Darien YMCA Gymnasts Rise to Challenge at New England Regionals

May 19, 2014

More than 800 gymnasts from 29 teams competed at the 2014 YMCA New England Regional Gymnastics Championships meet held May 9-11 in Glastonbury, CT. In this tough competition, Darien YMCA gymnasts succeeded on all levels, including winning the team titles for Levels 8 and 9. Individual gymnasts winning the Regional All-Around (AA) Title for their age and level included Sofia Fea (level 4), Fiona Brock (6), Kelsey Fedorko (8) and Jessica Freiheit (8). Results for each level include the overall team rank as well as individual awards by level and age group.

In addition, Level 8 gymnast Christina Brandt was awarded the 2014 YMCA Regional Gymnastics Graduating Senior Scholarship, which is presented to one senior each year based on GPA, community service and an essay describing how the gymnast's life has benefited from the YMCA gymnastics program. Brandt accepted the award but was unable to compete due to injury.

The Level 4 team placed 6th out of 29 teams. In the 7-year age group, Sofia DeStefano won the beam title and placed 2nd on vault, bars, floor and AA. Emily Bevilacqua was 2nd on beam and 6th on floor. Ali Kolman was 5th on vault and 6th on beam. In the 8A group, Anna Primmer placed 4th on vault. Melina Cardini led the 8B scoring, placing 2nd on floor, 4th on bars and 5th AA. Devan Grills was 4th on vault and floor, 5th on beam and 6th AA. Iris West won the vault title with a 9.5.

In the 9A group, Caterina Pye, Audrey Ridder and Isabella DeStefano tied for 4th on beam. Caterina was also 3rd on floor and AA and 4th on vault. DeStefano also tied with Nima Rahbar for the floor title and placed 4th AA and 6th on vault. Gabriela Pye was 2nd on vault and beam and 5th AA. Rahbar also placed 5th on vault and 6th on bars. In the 9B group, Jane Torterella placed 4th on beam, 6th on bars and floor and 5th AA. Lilly Wurm was 3rd on floor and 6th on beam. Sofia Imbrogno was 3rd on vault and 5th on beam. Katelyn Secor was 2nd on vault, 5th on bars and 6th AA in group 9C while Saski Chermayeff won the beam title with a 9.55 and earned 4th on floor. Megan Mitchell led the team in the 9D group, winning the beam title with a 9.35 and placing 2nd on vault, floor and AA. Annie Bingle placed 3rd on vault.

In level 4, group 10A, Olivia Stemp placed 4th on beam while Emma Neaderland was 5th on bars and 6th on floor. Lucy Collins placed 2nd on floor, 4th AA and 5th on vault and bars in the 10C group while Melanie Vernal was 6th on vault. Sofia Fea won the AA title for the 12+ group with a 37.20 AA and also placed 2nd on vault and beam, 3rd on bars and 6th on floor. Also competing for Darien at Level 3 were Treasa Brown and Tetyana Banaryk.

The Level 4 team won the 3rd place trophy. In the 9 Junior group, Leah Wall placed 2nd on floor, 5th on vault and AA and 6th on bars. Tori Ware won the bars, beam and floor titles and was 6th AA. Paige Domenici was 5th on bars and Sommer Schmidt was 6th on beam. Kate Wolters was 4th on beam in the 9 Senior group. Skye Greene led the scoring in the 10A group, winning the floor title with a 9.525 and placing 3rd on bars and 5th on vault and AA. Megan Cutler was 5th on beam and 6th AA. In the 10B group, Holly McGoldrick won the vault title, placed 2nd on floor and AA and was 3rd on bars. Christina Pizzani was 4th on beam and 5th AA. Nicole Thompson was 6th on beam. Dylan Aysseh won the 10C group floor title with a 9.4 and placed 3rd on beam and floor and 5th on bars. Lindsey Hall was 2nd on beam and tied for 6th on bars with Lizzie Canelli, who also placed 5th on floor.

In the 11 Junior group, Sofia Pye placed 3rd on beam and AA along with 4th on floor and 6th on bars. Kerry McDermott placed 4th on vault and 6th on floor and AA in the 12 Junior group. Kate Reeves was 6th on bars and Emma Koerner 2nd on vault in the 12 Senior group. Katie Weinberg led the team in the 13+ group, placing 4th on bars and floor and 5th AA. Lindsey Wallach was 4th on vault. Also competing for Darien at Level 4 were Meghan Sisk, Megumi Murao, Carson Halabi and Lilah Grant.

The Level 5 team brought home the 2nd place trophy. For the 9-10 group, Sydney Steele placed 4th on bars and floor and 5th on vault. Allie Trotman led the team in the 11 years group, winning the vault title with a 9.35 and placing 2nd on bars and AA and 3rd on floor. Lana Schmidt placed 3rd on beam, 4th AA and 6th on vault and floor. Stella Kamensky earned 5th on bars. In the 12 years group, Dorothy Browning was 5th on vault and 6th on bars and floor while Maeve Degulis was 5th on beam. In the 13+ group, Jane Ogden was 2nd on vault and floor. Also competing at Level 5 for Darien were Octavia Molkenthin, Jackie Braselton and Nathalie Bravo.

The Level 6 team earned 4th place. In the 9-11 group, Juliana Jordao placed 2nd on beam, 4th AA and 5th on vault and bars. Kaitlyn Moussignac vaulted to 4th in the 12 years group. With a score of 35.675, Fiona Brock was the AA champion for the 15+ group, and also won the bars title, placed 2nd on beam, 3rd on floor and 5th on vault. Sarah Petti placed 3rd on bars. Emily Medwid also competed at Level 6 for Darien.

Also ranking 4th, the Level 7 team included Gianna Cardini who won the beam title for the 12 years group with a 9.15 and placed 2nd on vault, 4th AA and 6th on floor. Elena Savas won the 13 years group vault title with a 9.4 and placed 2nd on beam and floor and 3rd AA. Toni Cardini won the beam title for the 14 years group, placed 2nd AA, 3rd on vault and floor and 5th on bars. Aisling Brock was 2nd AA and on bars in the 15 years group, 3rd on vault and floor and 5th AA. In the 16+ group, Kajsa Lundeen was 2nd on vault, 4th on bars and floor and 6th AA.

The Level 8 team captured the team title by a wide margin. Kelsey Fedorko swept the titles in the 13 years group, winning all four events and the AA with a 35.95. Jessica Freiheit won the 15 years group AA title with a 35.75 as well as the vault and bars titles and placed 2nd on beam. Samantha Aparicio won the beam title with a 9.5 and placed 2nd on vault, bars and AA. In the 16 years group, Perri Mirabile was 2nd on vault and beam, 4th AA and 5th on floor. In the 17+ group, Samantha Gunn was 2nd on bars, 4th on floor and 6th AA.

The Level 9 team also won the team title. In the Junior group, Adnerys DeJesus won the beam title with a 9.4 and placed 2nd on vault, bars and AA and 3rd on floor. In the Senior group, Hayley Holzinger won the floor title with a 9.0 and placed 3rd on all other events and AA. The Darien gymnasts will next compete at the YMCA National Championships in Tampa, Florida in July.