MOULTRIE — The injury-weakened Moultrie YMCA level 9 team showed it still had enough talent to place second at the recent Hilton Head Island Invitational with a score of 104.65.

The chilly, but beautiful South Carolina holiday weekend was enjoyed by teams from 21 states. All-American Gymnastics from Savannah scored 106.55 to win the level 9 competition.

Meghan Merritt had looked nervous and a little rusty last month in Woodstock. It had been her first time performing before judges since she placed second all-around at the 2011 YMCA Nationals.

She looked a lot more comfortable and confident as she placed first on bars (8.65), beam (9.35) and floor (9.4), and won the senior B all-around title with a solid 35.875.

After recovering from an ankle injury that required surgery and a lengthy rehab, the 16-year-old has found vault to be the final piece to fall back into place. She placed third on the event with an 8.475.

“We started on bars and ended the meet on vault,” said Coach Bob Swadel. “Meghan hit every skill in her routines and then couldn’t quite stand up either of her vault attempts.

“She was understandably disappointed that she didn’t finish vault better, but quite happy with her overall performance. It was great to see her relaxed and having fun at a meet again.”

Sterlyn Austin excited spectators and caught the eyes of coaches and judges alike with her difficulty-packed routines. The diminutive 12-year-old placed first on floor with a personal-best score of 9.35. She added a 9.05 on vault and an 8.75 on bars, that each earned her a second-place silver medal.

A surprising fall on her very difficult front salto (flip) on the beam cost her a one-half point (.5) deduction, dropping her score to 8.475. She placed fourth on the event. Her 35.60 all-around score earned her a silver medal in the junior A age group.

In just her second meet as a level 9, Kaydee Phillips made a couple of “rookie mistakes,” but showed vast improvement from the first meet back in December. The CCHS senior finished third on bars (7.55) and beam (7.95) after missed skills cost her valuable points. She looked strong on floor, scoring an 8.725 and earning her third bronze medal in the senior B age group. She scored an 8.95 on her final vault. It was good enough to earn herself her first event championship as a level 9.

Coach Allen Harden was pleased with both Austin and Phillips.

“Sterlyn is maturing and has the look of a future champion. Her strong skills on every event make her a threat to win the all-around title at every meet,” he said. “Kaydee is working hard at practice and has been making routine after routine on bars and beam. When she relaxes in front of the judges and trusts her training results, she will make a strong run at qualifying for USAG Regionals.”

The MG coaches hope that level 9 teammates Aubrea Callanta (ankle) and Sammie Phillips (elbow) will be ready for the Chick-fil-A Invitational in Duluth in two weeks or by Panama City Beach’s Edgewater Classic in mid-February. After they work back into shape to do full routines, they will provide added depth to the squad.

A sore back has also sidelined Susannah Harvell, but there is no timetable yet for her return to action.

Knee injuries, however, have sidelined both Timia Fowler and Hayley Trouille for the remainder of the season. The talented all-arounders will be missed on every event.

Evelyn Fagan was the only MG entered in the level 8 competition at Hilton Head. She celebrated her 14th birthday by scoring a 32.95 all-around and qualifying for the 2013 USAG state meet and YMCA nationals.

She placed eighth on vault with an 8.5 and added an 8.0 on bars, an 8.4 on beam and had a fall on a tumbling pass on floor that cost her a 9.0 score and a medal on the event. She scored an 8.00 on the event.

Lillian Fagan, 11, scored a personal best, 33.525 all-around, earning her the 12fth place medal in level 7, junior B. She placed ninth on vault (8.875) and bars (8.60). She also scored 8.75 on floor and 7.3 on beam, but did not place on the events.

McKinley Calhoun, 12, scored a 33.15 in her first level 7 meet, placing 13th in the senior A age group.  She took home the ninth-place medal on bars with an 8.55, and the 10th place medal on beam at 8.2. Her 8.3 on floor and 8.1 on vault did not place.

“I was very happy with all the girls that competed. They performed very well in a big meet,” Swadel said.