Garden Island Gymnastics athletes Sonya Ell, Nayah Cornell, Lily Humphrey, Ashlyn Worley and Kassy Ell advanced in their respective gymnastic levels Friday after securing enough points at the virtual USA Gymnastics-sanctioned event held at the Kapahi gym.
Worley and Cornell, both 12, successfully earned Level 4 honors after securing sufficient points in each discipline, including the uneven parallel bars, balance beam, vault and floor exercise. Worley finished with 35.30 points in the Level 4 qualifying, edging out Cornell by just .10 points and earning first place in the beam and bars.
Cornell secured first place in the floor and vault after edging out Worley by .20 points in each of the events.
Humphrey, Kassy Ell and Sonya Ell, all 13, qualified for advancement to Level 5 after Kassy Ell nailed overall first-place honors on 35.70 points that included first-place finishes in the floor and vault. Humphrey nailed second place overall on 34.60 points after securing first-place finishes in the beam and bars on scores of 9.0 in each apparatus. Sonya Ell rounded out the trio in third place with an overall 34.10 points.
“This event is huge for us as a gymnastics academy,” said coach and co-owner Karla Villanueva-Bernal.
“We couldn’t have a meet last year because of the COVID-19 shutdowns. But that didn’t stop us from working. The gymnasts worked really hard through the pandemic, and in July the USA Gymnastics changed the routines for the meet. The girls had to work through the July Fourth weekend until today to get the new routines.”
Daniel Bernal, Garden Island Gymnastics co-owner, said the “Let’s Go Kaua‘i!” virtual gymnastics meet might be the first USA
Gymnastics-sanctioned event on the island.
“In-person gymnastics meets are not happening at this time,” Daniel Bernal said. “Coach Karla Villanueva-Bernal worked to become a USAG-certified meet director, and the virtual meet for team gymnasts was held. The only person, technically, who is present virtually, is the USAG-sanctioned judge who is on the Big Island.”
Karla Villanueva-Bernal worked with her staff of coaches, including Olga Murillo, Anne Eulalio, Molly McGee and Daniel Bernal, to train and coach the five gymnasts through the year.
“This was really huge for the gymnastics,” Villanueva-Bernal said. “Our event just happens to coincide with the opening day of competition in Tokyo for the Olympics that will showcase the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team, including the amazing Simone Biles. This meet in Kapa‘a is something these girls will remember for a long time.”
Bernal said the gymnastics competitive season is scheduled to start in October, barring any more delays due to COVID-19.
Garden Island Gymnastics is the only USA Gymnastics member facility providing gymnastics instruction on the island of Kaua‘i.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
