Eastern Gymnastics Academy

Archive for September, 2009

8-year-old gymnast wins state championship

Posted by admin On September - 13 - 2009

by The Chronicle

Wednesday March 18, 2009, 2:00 PM

CRANFORD–Eight-year-old Samantha Davis of Cranford concluded her JOGA level C gymnastics season in the best way possible. She achieved her goal of winning the first place state title in her very first full season of competition.

Samantha, a member of Cranford’s Eastern Gymnastics Academy competitive team, delivered consistent and powerful performances this season which awarded her six first place all-around medals in the 8- to 9-year-old age group. Samantha also attained the highest all-around scores across all age groups (8 to 14+) during four qualifier meets this season. With six first place titles on floor exercise, five first place and one second place award on uneven bars, five first place wins on vault, and four first place and one second place medal on balance beam, Samantha qualified to compete at four different levels (C, C+, B and A) within just one season. These achievements secured her participation in the N.J. state championships.

Guided by her very supportive and talented coaches, Jozef Safko and Kyla Mendes, Samantha participated in the JOGA C level state championship meet held during the weekend of Feb. 7 in Eastampton, N.J. A total of 246 qualifying gymnasts ranging from age 8-14+ from all areas of New Jersey participated in the event. Samantha was placed in a special C+ category of competition during the meet that was reserved for the season’s top-scoring 20 gymnasts in the 8 to 11 age group. After very strong performances on balance beam, uneven bars and vault, Samantha pleased the crowd and judges by delivering a stunning floor routine that scored an 8.875; the highest floor score achieved across all 246 gymnasts. When combined with her 8.70 vault, 8.25 beam and 7.425 bar scores, Samantha attained an all-around score of 33.275 which clinched first place all-around in her age group, as well as the highest all-around score of the 246 gymnasts across all ages. This achievement won her the 2009 JOGA C+ State Championship.

Samantha has now moved on to level B competitions and recently took first place on each event and an all-around first place in the 8- to 11-year-old group during her very first B-level meet. She will close out this season at level B and work on developing new skills that will get her ready for the next season by continuing with her weekly 12 hours of training along with her teammates at Eastern.

She will also attend the International Gymnastics Camp in Stroudsburg, Pa. this summer, where she will have the opportunity to learn from a group of talented elite and Olympic gymnasts including Nastia Liukin, the 2008 Beijing Olympic individual all-around gold medalist from the U.S.A.

Samantha thanks her amazing teammates, outstanding coaches and local fans for all of the support and encouragement they have given her this season.

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Eastern Gymnastics gets gold, silver, and bronze

Posted by admin On September - 13 - 2009

by The Chronicle

Thursday December 11, 2008, 10:58 AM

CRANFORD–The Eastern Gymnastics Academy competitive gymnastics team started off the 2008-2009 season reaching for gold and they have grabbed it.

Completing three meets so far, the six local girls who make up Eastern’s C level JOGA team have prevailed with two 2nd place and one 1st place team trophy, and their individual accomplishments have resulted in a colorful array of all-around medals. And by the end of their second meet of the season, each girl had qualified for a position to compete in the state level JOGA competitions that will take place in 2009.

Samantha Davis, age 8 of Cranford, has won three 1st place all-around gold medals in the 8-9 year old group. Samantha also attained the highest all-around scores across all age groups (8-14+) during two of the three meets by delivering scores of 31.35 and 31.90. With three first place titles on floor exercise and uneven bars, a first and second place ribbon for beam, and two first place ribbons on vault, this very focused powerhouse of a gymnast has qualified for states at the C, C+ and B level.

Kelsea Siter, age 10 from Mountainside, has achieved two 1st place all-around gold medals and one 3rd place all-around medal in the 10-11 year old age group. Demonstrating her ability to deliver consistent scores and strong performances on every event, Kelsea has accumulated multiple second and third place titles on beam, bars, vault and floor exercise. She is a dynamic, well-rounded gymnast who has delivered a high all-around score of 30.8 and qualified for states at both the C and B level.

But Eastern’s accomplishments don’t stop with gold. The all-around winner’s podium has been dominated by Eastern girls. Delaney Sciascia, age 9 and also of Cranford, has stepped onto the podium for a 2nd place silver and two 3rd place bronze all-around medals so far this season. She has reached an all-around high score of 30.3 and brought home many second and third place ribbons on beam, bars vault, and floor. A strong, graceful and charismatic gymnast, Delaney has also qualified for states at both the C and B level.

Emily DeLima, age 8 of Clark, has also received 2nd and 3rd place all-around titles. She delivered a beam performance that rocked the house at a recent meet held in Morganville, NJ. Emily’s 8.35 score was the highest beam score of the day across all age groups winning her the gold medal on that event. Her sound performances and all-around high score of 29.35 have qualified Emily for a position in the C level state competiton.

Julia Wilson, age 11 of Cranford, has won two 4th place all-around titles in the 10-11 age group. Demonstrating flexibility and gracefulness, Julia has also won first place ribbons on beam and floor and a second place ribbon on vault. Her efforts and high all-around score of 29.40 have qualified her for states at both the C and B level.

Rounding out the team is Taylor Grant, age 10 of Cranford. Taylor has been sidelined since the first meet due to injury but is sure to add to Eastern’s success once she returns.

The girls attribute their achievements so far to a weekly regimen of hard work consisting of 12 hours of training. They each show a desire for perfection which is driven by coaches Jozef Safko and Kyla Mendes. Jozef and Kyla bring years of gymnastics expertise, discipline and encouragement to these girls and it is paying off.