Four gymnasts from Surrey clubs were crowned provincial champions at last weekend’s B.C. championships at the Langley Events Centre.
Hyugo Ishida and Malcolm Herbert of the Surrey Gymnastics Society (SGS) won in boys competition, Jordanne Dunbar of the Splitz Gymnastics Club is the provincial champion in the women’s P3 Novice, and Surrey resident Taylor Oakley of the Flicka club in North Vancouver topped the standings in the women's National Open group.
Four other Surrey gymnasts reached the podium for their all around scores, and several more captured event medals.
John Carroll, the head coach at SGS, said the weekend produced “excellent results. We had an extremely good competition, with many highlights.”
SGS was dominant in the Boys Level 4 (13-and-older) category, as Ishida won the all around gold with first place scores on five of six events. The 13-year-old North Delta resident also added a silver medal on parallel bars. SGS teammate Aidan Wilson, 13, of Surrey took the silver medal all around with runner-up scores on four events, and fifth place finishes on parallel bars and high bar.
Herbert, 13, earned his provincial championship in the National Youth category, becoming event champion on rings and parallel bars, adding silver medals on floor and pommel horse and a bronze on vault. He was also fifth on high bar. Khalil Dhanji, also of SGS, won gold on floor, bronze on parallel bars and fourth on pommel horse to place third all around.
Dunbar had the top scores on floor and bars to take the all around gold in women’s P3 Novice. She was also fifth on beam. Teammate Amber Skemp shared a silver medal on beam, placing seventh all around.
Oakley, 14, collected a gold medal on floor, a silver on bars and a bronze on vault.
SGS members won a pair of medals in the Level 2 division. Spencer Principe, 11, medaled on all six events to place second in the 10-and-under group. He won gold on floor, added silver on pommel horse, vault and high bar, and earned the bronze on rings and parallel bars. Teammate Treyson Ceratto, 10, is the high bar provincial champion in the same age group. He also won silver medals on floor, pommel horse and parallel bars, a bronze on rings and placed fifth on vault.
Gordie Kordas, 16, placed second all around in the High Performance Tyro category. The South Surrey resident won gold on pommel horse, earned silver on floor and high bar, and took home bronze medals on rings and parallel bars.
Other SGS boys results from included Nicolas Apostol of Surrey placed fifth all around in the High Performance Argo category with a silver medal on parallel bars, a bronze on rings and vault and a fifth on high bar, and 12-year-old Kevin Hignell of North Delta placed fifth all around in Level 3 (under-13) with silver medals on pommel horse and parallel bars and a fifth on rings.
In girls competition, Hiroka Takeuchi won an all around bronze in the Level 4 Open category. The 13-year-old Surrey resident won a bronze on beam and was fourth on vault.
Bridget Hastings, 14, of North Delta was fifth all around in Level 5 Open competition, after winning the silver medal on floor and a fifth place score on beam. Teammate Brittany Eldridge, 19, of Surrey was fourth on bars.
Silver medals were won by Emily Carroll, 13, (Level 3 Novice ’97) on vault and Nicaela Little, 12, (Level 2 Novice) on beam.
Three members of the Splitz club earned top three scores in Langley.
Kisha Gatchalian used a tie for second place on bars to climb up to fifth in the all around standings of the Level 4 Novice group.
Allyson Armstrong was fourth all around in Level 3 Argo, earning a silver medal on vault and a bronze on bars. Darcy Schultz, also of Splitz, placed third on beam.