Moultrie YMCA Level 6 gymnast Mackenzie Yates competed in her first Y Nationals last week.

MOULTRIE – Sammie Phillips and Sterlyn Austin won national championships to lead the Moultrie YMCA gymnastics team to a second-place finish at the recent 77th annual YMCA National Championships.

The Championships were hosted by the Greater Wichita YMCA in Wichita, Kan., with 88 YMCA teams from 18 states competing in levels 1-10.

“The MG’s represented Moultrie and Georgia with their best,” said coach Pat Murphy-Meier.

Gregg Marshall, head basketball coach for the Wichita State University, was the keynote speaker at the opening ceremony and “He motivated the gymnasts to want to win,” Murphy-Meier said.

The Moultrie championship team started out the first day with good skills and ready to compete in the Flight of Champions meet. Top three scores on each event for two days result in the team score. The Moultrie YMCA was tied for first place with a 106.675 on the first day with Darien YMCA from Darien, Conn.

Darien YMCA has been a rival team of the Moultrie MGs for several years and has had many close Y Nationals meets in the past.

The second day, the MGs scored a little lower with a 105.325 to place second in the team results.

All of Moultrie’s gymnasts counted on one event for the second day team score of 212.0.

Austin counted toward the team score on every event. She had a personal-best on beam scoring a 9.575 and tied for the level 10 record on vault with a score of 9.55.

She also advanced to finals in the all-around. She placed second on vault, fifth on bars with a personal best score of 9.175, and second on floor.

Austin was the YMCA National beam champion with a final score of 18.338. Austin finished the meet second in the nation with an all-around score of 73.176, which made her an All American for the third time.

Phillips had the meet of her life.

She contributed to the team score on bars, beam and floor. She advanced to finals competing beam and floor, placing fourth on beam with a total score of 17.313.

She is the YMCA senior Floor Champion scoring a personal best score of 9.2 on finals day, with a total score of 18.263. She became an All American for the second year in a row, finishing sixth in the senior division with a total score of 69.20.

“Sammie Phillips, our only senior, led the team with her consistent performance,” said Harden. “She finished her last meet with the MGs in high style, finishing as the sixth-place YMCA All-American and the National Floor Exercise Champion.”

Timia Fowler in the senior division had a good meet coming back from her knee surgeries and learning new skills just for this meet.

She was also another MG who competed Y Nationals for the first time at the Championship level. She counted for team score on bars, vault, and beam. She had a personal best on bars with a score of 9.0 and on beam with a 9.2.

Fowler earned a spot in event finals competing beam and bars. She finished fifth on bars with a final score of 16.75 and 6th on beam with a score of 17.15.

In the junior age group, Evelyn Fagan counted towards the team score with her beam routine scoring 8.85 and her floor an 8.6.

Fagan scored a 64.10 all around in her first year at this level.

Also a junior and in her first year at this level, teammate Jordan Yates scored a personal best on bars, counting for team score on vault, beam and floor.

Yates earned a 67.5 AA to place ninth. She earned a spot to compete in the event finals on vault, where is earned an eighth-place medal with a final score of 17.80.

Mackenzie Yates competed in her first YMCA National competition as a level 6 and scored her highest beam score of a 9.35, placing her fifth in the junior age group.

Each session divided the gymnasts in half and then the top eight girls received medals. She also scored a personal best score on bars with an 8.325, which placed her seventh overall. Yates also had a personal best on vault scoring a 9.15, scored 8.7 on the floor.

“Mackenzie has made a tremendous improvement in level 6,” Coach Bria Blakely said. “She looked strong, confident and ready to do well. It showed because she scored her best all around too, a 35.525 to place ninth in the junior age group.”

“Coach Bob Swadel was unable to attend due to a medical problem, but all the girls had their best meet of the season when they needed it the most,” said Coach Allen Harden.

Blakely said she was extremely proud of all the girls.

“They had positive attitudes throughout the whole meet and to me they looked like a team,” she said. “Everyone did their part and kept each other’s spirits high all three days.

“Sammie’s leadership during the meet was incredible, which kept the team together, and the girls really look up to her for that.”

The MGs are finished with their season and will now begin training skills for next season.