There was plenty of competition for the host club at the Carol Lenz Memorial (girls) and Surrey Classic (boys) invitational meets last weekend at the Guildford Rec Centre.
Hosted by the Surrey Gymnastic Society (SGS), the 29th annual competition attracted 538 participants (380 girls and 158 boys) from across British Columbia and included three clubs from Alberta, but SGS competitors more than held their own.
Surrey resident Alanna Jones, 20, won the all around silver medal in the Provincial 5 Open category for girls, after gold medal efforts on vault and floor and earning a bronze on bars. Teammate Bridget Hastings, 18, of North Delta placed sixth all around.
In Provincial 2 Tyro girls (born 2003) Cassandra Principe, 10, of Surrey took the all around gold. She won gold on bars, added a silver on beam and was fourth on vault. SGS teammate Makiah Anderson, also 10 and from Surrey, won the bronze medal on beam.
Maria Bashko, 10, of Surrey was the all around champion in girls Provincial 2 Argo (born 2004) with a gold medal on beam, a bronze on floor and a fourth-place score on vault.
The Provincial 2 Tyro (born 2002) category for girls produced three 11 year-old medalists from SGS. Sarah Tobin of South Surrey won the all around bronze medal and took the gold on beam. Teammate Eva Woodward was fourth all around after winning a silver medal on bars and placing fourth on vault. Nicole Czerniakowski won a bronze medal on bars and was sixth all around.
Provincial 1 Argo (born 2006) – 8 year old Surrey resident,
Eight-year-old Avery Harrison won a gold on vault and was fifth all around in the Provincial 1 Argo (born 2006) group, while teammate Talya Jalbert earned a silver medal on vault.
Other results from SGS girls included Alexa Cannon, 11, winning a bronze medal on floor in Provincial 3 Tyro, Jillian Principe, 12, winning a gold medal on beam and a bronze on bars to place fourth all around in Provincial 3 Novice, Monaeya Silveira, 11, placing fourth on vault and floor in Provincial 1 Tyro, Uliana Grichkovskaia, 10, placing fourth on floor in Provincial 1 Argo and RayAnne Quinn, 14, placing sixth all around in Provincial 3 Open.
SGS boys also had plenty of success.
Emanuel Gutierrez-Sandoval of Surrey was the all around champion in the Provincial 2 (10-and-under) group. The 10 year-old Surrey resident dominated the category, winning the gold medal on floor, pommel horse, parallel bars and high bar and added a bronze on rings. Teammate Timofey Azhogin was fourth all around with a silver on floor, a bronze on high bar and fourth-place scores on pommel horse and rings.
Alon Zvikler, 12, and Martin Malcolm, 10, placed one-two in the all around standings in Provincial 3 (under 13). Zvikler won gold on high bar, silver on parallel bars and bronze on floor to win all around gold, while Malcolm won gold on rings and silver on high bar.
Treyson Cerrato was in the top five in all six events and earned the all around bronze medal in Elite 4, taking the gold on parallel bars and silver on pommel horse and rings. The 12 year-old was also fourth on floor and high bar and fifth on vault.
Spencer Principe, 14, was sixth all around in Provincial 4 (13-and-over) with a gold medal on rings, and bronze medals on pommel horse and parallel bars.
Kevin Naismith, 16, contested only one event after recovering from an injury, and won gold in the National Open group by almost a full point.
Many of the SGS gymnasts will be in Kamloops March 14-16 for the B.C. championships.
