Five gold medals are unprecedented for Level 3 competitors at the Western Canadian rhythmic gymnastics championships.
Tell that to Madeline Sellars.
The 10-year-old Okanagan Rhythmic Gymnastics Club member dominated the top Level 3 spot at Western Canadians in Regina. Sellars won gold in free, hoop, ball, ribbon and the all-around title with a massive 4.4 point lead.
In the same division, Kaitlyn Dugas was at her first Western Canadians and finished 12th overall. Noelle Brierley, who just turned nine, finished 10th overall and Sydney Hannah finished sixth overall.
Overall in Regina, 17 ORGC members performed 62 routes with 59 top-eight placings (29 of which were medals).
In Level 4, Leni Szudek had a sixth place result in hoop. Gracie Cox defended her B.C. championship, winning one bronze in rope and three silver medals in ball, clubs and overall.
Zoe Plummer was so excited to make magic with her hoop routine in Level 5, she secured a bronze medal with the routine and placed seventh in the all around. A move from Edmonton to Vernon to train with ORGC paid off for Sonia Ivanchikov, who won gold in ball, silver in ribbon and silver overall (was 29th the year before).
In National Levels (comprised of novice, junior open and senior open), Ashlyn Andreotti performed her best routines of the season and finished ninth overall in novice. Elle Dockendorff rose up to claim a spot in Nationals by finishing fifth overall.
Meagan Lightfoot battled illness throughout the event but persevered in the junior division to earn eighth place in ball and finished 17th overall. Halle Moger qualified for nationals with a riveting performance and an eighth place finish.
Emmalee Holland was seventh overall in senior, one spot back of clubmate Leah Defeo.
In junior high performance, Isabella Haldane fought off a nagging knee injury to win the overall bronze medal, and was second in ball and clubs. Jaedyn Andreotti focused on increasing her speed and her risks and it paid ff with a first in clubs and ribbon, second in hoop, fourth in ball and winning the overall gold medal by a whopping four points.
Megan Hamilton, a three-year national team member, won the overall gold in the senior high performance class, finishing first in all events (hoop, ball, club ribbons).
Hamilton, Jaedyn Andreotti and Haldane took part in Elite Canada earlier in the year in Markham, Ont. Hamilton, who had won a bronze at the Pan Am Games in the fall of 2016, was consistent despite having very little time to adjust to new 2017 rules. She, along with Andreotti and Haldane, competed in the finals at Elite Canada. Andreotti won a bronze medal in the ribbon event.
