Two West Chester gymnasts traveled to Texas Women’s University to compete in the USAG National competition on Thursday.Alli Aquila and Kaley LaFleur represented West Chester. Competition opened in Texas on Thursday with the gymnasts competing in their events to see if they would make the individual events finals, which were held on Saturday.
Aquila, who tied for 15th at last year’s USAG Nationals, was no stranger to the competition and is heading back for her second year in a row. LaFleur is also used to championship competition after just missing a spot on a podium and placing fourth at the ECAC Championships a week prior.
The entire team has been practicing with Aquila and LaFleur and encouraging them before they leave for Texas.
“The whole team has been really supportive of them,” head coach Barbara Cordova said.
Both gymnasts participated in the all-around competition and posted season high scores on their best events. LaFleur, who was a first time visitor to Nationals, performed well on the balance beam.
“Kaley’s best event was the balance beam,” Cordova said. “And we knew she could possibly make finals if she hit. She did her best routine of the year and scored a 9.625 and placed seventh. The top five go to finals, so she just missed it.”
The gymnasts who placed fifth on the balance beam scored a 9.675, so LaFleur was just shy of competing on Saturday.
Aquila, who qualified for Nationals last year, had her best event on the vault, posting a season high score of 9.55. The best performance of the day on the vault was a 9.775.
LeFleur ended her day tied for 18th in the all-around competition while Aquila finished 20th, though they were only separated by 1.150 points. They earned a 36.400 and a 35.250, respectively.
“The whole meet was a great experience,” Cordova said. “We are equally proud of both girls.”
Both gymnasts are young competitors for West Chester with LaFleur only being in her first year as a Ram, and Aquila her second. They have performed well for West Chester in their short tenure and are expected to continue to be strong competitors.
The top placing gymnast in the competition was Rashonda Cannie from Texas Women’s University. She scored a 38.725. This is Cannie’s second straight all-around title at the USAG National competition. TWU went on to compete in the team competition on Friday before falling to Bridgeport by a score of 193.975-193.600. Bridgeport scored more than three points above their average score of the season.
TWU holds the record for USAG titles with nine, with their last coming in 2003.
The Nationals meet was the last for West Chester this season. Both LaFleur and Aquila will be returning next season to compete for the Rams.
Amy Festa is a third-year student majoring in English with a minor in Journalism. She can be reached at AF649219@wcupa.edu.