MOULTRIE — The Moultrie MG gymnastics team represented the Moultrie YMCA in the Rose City Invitational on Saturday in Thomasville, Ga.

With levels 3-7 competing, and many of the gymnasts returning to competition after a record-setting meet in Albany a short week ago, the MGs had a great opportunity for success.  

The Level 3 MG’s began the day of competition in Thomasville with a second place team finish behind Dream It gymnastics of Tifton. Though their overall team score was lower than the previous weekend, many individual performances still set new personal records. Shelby Norman led her team with a personal best all-around of 35.425, where she placed first.

She also posted her team’s highest score on floor (9.05), again taking first place.

 Norman broke two more personal records and kept her position at the top of the podium on bars (8.95) and beam (8.725).

Ruth Anne McCranie had the next highest MG all-around of a 34.2, good for third place in her age division. McCranie matched her Level 3 career score on bars with a 9.15 for second place and scored an 8.85 on beam and an 8.3 on floor, both good for third.

Brandalyn Fitz followed closely behind her teammate in the all-around competition, scoring a 34.125; this is a new personal record for Fitz and it earned her a fourth place finish. She also bested her personal records on vault with a 9.2 for second and on bars with an 8.45.

Hayley Hamm was the next MG to set a new all-around personal best record of a 33.775, good for fifth place in her age division. Hamm set another record for herself on beam, where she scored an 8.675 and placed fourth; she also scored an 8.8 on vault and an 8.3 on bars.

Brooklyn James matched her personal best all-around from the previous meet, scoring a 33.725. She scored an 8.4 on vault, bars, and floor (where she placed second), and an 8.525 on beam.

Tyliyah Smith was just behind James, scoring a 33.575 all-around for second place in her age division. She placed first on vault with a 9.0, and placed second on the other three other events. Smith set a personal best of an 8.525 on beam.

Tayler Scott placed first in each of her events and in all-around with a 33.4. She set a personal best of 8.8 on vault and scored a solid 8.55 on beam.

Marlie Daniels finished the competition with an all-around of a 33.025. She scored an 8.5 on vault and a personal best of an 8.85 on bars, good for fourth place.

Jessica Benson, like her teammate Scott, took first place in every category for her age division. She scored a 32.95 all-around and set a new personal best on bars with an 8.65.

Christina Cox was the final Level 3 MG to best her season all-around record, scoring a 31.875 and placing second. She also bested her bar record, scoring an 8.85 for second place.

Gigi Kline concluded the Moultrie competitors, scoring a 31.85 and placing third. She also took third place on vault with an 8.0 and on bars with an 8.2.

“We made progress today but found some new areas that need a little extra attention,” said head coach Leah May, “The girls had a good meet and we had several high all-around scores, but I know we can be even better.”

The Level 4 MG’s competed in the second session of the day and gave an outstanding team performance.

Every Moultrie gymnast that competed set a new personal all-around record.

Makenzie Smith competed in her first Level 4 meet of the season after rejoining the MG’s and posted an all-around of a 35.9, placing second. She scored a 9.3 on vault and had another personal best on bars, scoring a 9.2 and placing first.

Neya Herndon’s first Level 4 competition of the new year was one to be proud of. She scored a 35.35 all-around, tying for first place, and wowed the crowd with a personal best floor score of 9.5, again placing first. Herndon also set another personal record on bars with an 8.45, placing third.

Meghan Anderson, also in her first meet of the 2013 season, finished first in three of the five categories in her age group; bars (9.35), floor (9.1), and all-around (35.0). Each of these was also a personal best for Anderson, as was her 9.3 vault score for third place.

Hannah Classon finished the competition with a 34.4 all-around, taking sixth place in her age group.

She set two new personal records, an 8.15 on bars and a 9.05 on floor, where she tied for first place.

Ava White was the next record-setting Level 4. She finished with a 34.0 all-around for third place, and bested her bar record with an 8.25 and her floor record with an 8.925 for third place.

Carolyn Matthews improved her Level 4 career scores at the Rose City Invitational by scoring a 33.275 for fourth in the all-around, a 9.4 for second on vault, an 8.0 on bars, and an 8.15 on floor.

Sister Isabella Matthews also set new records for herself, earning a season-high 30.55 in the all-around, 7.5 on bars, and 8.3 for fourth on floor.

The MG Levels 4’s finished third in their session with a 107.45, a much improved team score.

“It was great to see so many of the Level 4’s finally competing together,” said coach Wendy Scites, “They looked great and really performed their routines well.”

The MG Level 5’s competed in the third session of the day and finished fourth as a team.

Chrissy Snyder led her team in the all-around and placed first in every category of her age division. Snyder set three personal records, on bars with an 8.55, beam with an 8.225, floor with an 8.4, and all-around with a 32.975.

Her teammate Mackenzie Yates followed closely behind with a 32.6 all-around; she, too finished first for each event and in all-around.

Yates bested her all-around score for the season, as well as her vault score (8.3), bar score (8.7), and floor score.

Curstin Jackson finished her first meet of 2013 with a 30.125, her best all-around of the season. She finished second all-around and bested her floor, bar, and beam scores for her Level 5 career. Jackson’s highest score of the day was an 8.075 on beam, good for second place.

Mackenzie Smith also set a new record for herself in the all-around, scoring a 29.65. She placed first in every category of the meet, and set new bar and beam (8.05) personal records.

Madison Cook competed in her hometown and finished first in all-around and on all her events. She finished with a 29.45 all-around and bested her floor score with a 7.3.

The last MG gymnast to compete was Jaiden Lane, who earned third place in all-around with a 28.25. This was a personal best for Lane, as was her 7.65 for second on floor.

“Today, several of the Level 5’s competed for the first time this year and I was proud of how they did,” Coach Dawn Harvell said, “We still have some work to do but overall I thought they did well.”

In their first meet of the new year, the Level 6 team showed promising improvement. Each one of the four competitors bested their all-around score and at least one of their event scores.

Bryleigh Parkerson was the top-scoring Level 6 gymnast with a 33.575, good for third place. She set two new records, on beam (8.425) and floor (8.45), and scored an 8.55 on vault.

Twin sister Alexis Parkerson finished just behind her sister with a 33.45 for fourth. She bested her bar score and her floor score with an 8.8 for second, as well as an 8.7 for second place on beam.

Ra’Mya Austin finished second in her age division in the all-around with a 32.95, her season best. She also placed second on vault, beam, and floor, and scored a personal best of 8.45 on bars for third.

Kilby Hunnicutt bested three of her five scores, placing third each time. She scored an 8.1 on bars, a 7.9 on floor, and a 31.4 all-around.

The team placed second in their session of the competition. Pat Murphy coached the Level 6’s and was impressed by their performances.

“I thought the girls did well, especially for their first meet,” she said. “They have some time before the next meet to work out the kinks and they’ll definitely be ready when we compete again.”  

MG Level 7’s Lilly Fagan and McKinley Calhoun joined their compulsory teammates at the Rose City Invitational and both finished in the top two for the all-around competition.

Calhoun finished the meet with a 34.425, a season best all-around and a score worthy of a second place finish. She also bested her bar (8.575), beam (8.6 for first place), and floor (8.7) scores.

Fagan finished with a strong 34.15, her best all-around of the season. She scored an 8.95 on bars for first and an 8.8 on floor for second. Fagan finished first all-around in her age division.

“We’ve enjoyed having the Level 7’s train with us and we’ve seen some improvement in the gym and in their meet scores,” said head coach Leah May. “With the success they had in Thomasville, the girls should be motivated and ready to work and I really look forward to seeing them compete in Panama City.”

The MG’s have a two-week training break before competing again in the Edgewater Classic in Panama City Beach, Fla.

This competitive meet will include Moultrie gymnasts levels 4-9 and many other teams from all over the southeast.

With stiff competition and an unfamiliar weekend-long meet schedule, the gymnasts of the Moultrie YMCA will have some new but conquerable challenges to overcome.