Huddle up: NASA gymnasts are state champs

Marques Hunter

Huddle up

The Gig Harbor-based NASA Gymnastics club won this year’s Level 4 junior Olympic state championship on Saturday at Auburn Mountainview High School with a team score of 111.725.

They upset perennial power Gym East of Bellevue by less than a point (110.825).

I had a quick chat on Monday with John Smith, NASA gymnastics director. He gave me an interesting perspective on how tough it is for a club their size to win a junior-level title.

Now, we’re not talking about a group of girls who are on the verge of making the USA Olympic team, but we’re certainly talking about a small but highly talented group of local girls who executed their routines to near perfection.

Each of the five NASA girls — all in their first full year of competition — scored at least 9.150 in either the vault, bars, beam or floor exercises.

Kaeli Cunningham, 8, had the best individual performance. She won every event and the all-around state championship in the junior B division.

Having a large volume of gymnasts gives clubs more talent to pick from. Yet some of the clubs in Washington state quadruple NASA’s size in total number of gymnasts.

For example, NASA has 300 members, and six other statewide private clubs contain upwards of 1,700, Smith said.

When you look at the pool of talent NASA gymnastics draws from, winning the Level 4 junior state championship is like seeing a high school Class 1A football team, like Life Christian, beat a 4A powerhouse, such a Skyline.

To give you even more perspective on NASA’s victory, Smith said there are a half-dozen clubs in Washington state with more than a 100 Level 4 gymnasts. NASA has just eight, and five of them represent the state championship team.

Level 4 consists of girls ages 7 to 15. While it’s not elite status, Smith said it’s where elite champions are made.

“We’re putting the foundation in place,” Smith said. “Form flexibility, strength and passion are all created at this level.”

It’s been several years since NASA has won a state championship at the junior level. NASA qualified for the competition by winning the southwest state competition.

There were 140 gymnasts and 16 teams represented at the Level 4 state championship competition. Considering the amount of depth some of the other clubs have, it’s a pretty big accomplishment for such a small group of girls.

“For a club with less numbers to draw from, it was kind of surprising to see our athletes win every category they entered in,” Smith said.

Congratulations to the individuals who compete on the NASA club team. This is a top-notch program that continually strives to be the best in the state and works to compete at the national level, too.

If you would like more information about NASA, call Smith at 253-565-8010 or visit www.nasagym.com.

NASA’s five state champions

Kaelie Cunningham: Won every event and was the all-around state champion in the junior B division with the highest average score of 37.5.

Emma Cantus: Won the bars, beam and floor exercises to finish with an all-around score of 37.125 in the junior B division.

Clare Cantus: Placed second all-around in the senior A division in Level 4 with a score of 36.575 and finished second on bars (9.225) and third on floor (9.125).

Amelia Wright: Won the vault, beam and floor with an all-around winning score of 36.30 in the junior C group of Level 4.

Madeleine Pickett: In the junior D Level 4 competition, Pickett won the floor exercise with a 9.325 and placed second on bars and beam, which got her the bronze medal.