A plethora of strong performances catapulted the Red Arrows to a third-place finish at the Lowell Gmnastics Invitational.

“I was very pleased with the team’s performance today!  Seeing so many of my gymnasts earn medals was so rewarding,” said Lowell gymnastics coach Michelle DeHaan.

At the top of that list was Kaezi Bladey who finished third overall in the all around and in three of the four events.

Bladey was third overall in the floor exercise with a score of 8.8.

“Kaezi (junior) had a great day overall, she really pulled things together and was strong on all four events.  Her floor score of 8.8 was a personal best.  She has a new floor routine this year and it seems to be suiting her well,” DeHaan explained.

Kaezi Bladey was third overall in ther all around at the Lowell Invitational.

Bladey tallied teem-leading 8.25 on the uneven bars, good enough for seventh overall. Her 8.15 placed her eighth overall on the balance beam. The Red Arrow garnered an 8.5 on the vault placing behind teammate Lauren DeHaan (8.575, eighth overall)) and Lauren Browning (8.55, 10th overall).

DeHaan was second overall on the balance beam with a splendid routine earning her a 9.0. She was fifth in the all around with a 33.475.

“DeHaan is the first gymnast to hit a 9.0 on beam since Kelsey Teft did three years ago!  Some routine requirements changed this year increasing the difficulty expected in bars, beam and floor making this an even bigger accomplishment,” DeHaan said.

Browning and Sarena Wilterdink (freshman) both had good showings.  Both girls worked so hard in their last few years in middle school to help them prepare for high school.  They have both proven already they are definitely girls to watch as they move up the high school ranks,” DeHaan said.

Browning was 11th overall on the bars with a score of 7.55.

Wilterdink, meanwhile, finished ninth overall on the bars, scoring a 7.675; and 11th on the beam with an 8.05.

Top Lowell Individual Scores

Vault

Lauren DeHaan 8.575 – 8th place

Lauren Browning 8.55 – 10 place

Kaezi Bladey 8.5

Sarena Wilterdink 8.45

Bars

Bladey 8.25 – 7th place

Wilterdink 7.675 – 9th place

Browning 7.55 – 11th place

Lauren DeHaan 7.15

Beam

Lauren DeHaan 9.0 – 2nd place

Kaezi Bladey 8.15 – 8th place

Sarena Wilterdink 8.05 – 11th place

Colleen Cater 7.975

placing from the B team on beam was

Danielle Krajewski 8.175 – 7th place

Floor

Kaezi Bladey 8.8 3rd place

DeHaan 8.75 6th place

Bethany Kaczanowski 8.15

Morgan Taylor 8.1

All Around

Bladey 33.7 – 3rd place

DeHaan 33.475 – 5th place

Wilterdink 31.975 – 10th place

Browning 31.55 – 12th place

Teams

Rockford A 140.15

Kenowa Hills/Grandville 132.125

Lowell A 131.475

Adrian 127.575

Tecumseh 120.00

Lowell B 111.575

East Kentwood 103.90

Coldwater 100.25

Rockford B 60.15

Filed under: gymnastics