West Chester University sophomore all-arounder Majesta Valentine of Wilmington, Del. was selected to participate in the 2015 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Regionals as part of the Morgantown Regional. Valentine became the first West Chester gymnast in school history to be picked for the NCAA Division I Regionals. She was ranked third in the region and qualified as one of the five all-arounders.
Valentine set the school record in the all-around competition and cemented her name in the record books during a dual meet against ECAC rival Southern Connecticut State University with a 38.900. She also tied the school record on the floor exercise in that same meet with a 9.875. The second-year gymnast for the Golden Rams also tied the school record on the balance beam at the ECAC Division II Championships with a 9.85. Valentine had consistent performances on the vault and uneven bars throughout the entire season, scoring career highs of 9.8 and 9.7 respectively. She has proven to be one of the team’s most reliable contributors to the overall team score and record-breaking season.
“She broke the individual all-round record two times, the individual vault record, and tied the individual balance beam and floor records,” Cordova added. “She finished her season with a 38.690 regional qualifying score.”[pullquote]That is the beauty of collegiate gymnastics, it’s all about the team.[/pullquote]
Majesta Valentine ended up in the Morgantown Region of the bracket where she was one of two athletes from Division II institutions, alongside Sasha Tsikhanovick from Bridgeport. She took on a majority of Division I talent across the board. It would be a tough feat to get through to the next round as only the top two finishers from each region move on to National Championships round in Fort Worth, Texas. However, hard-working and determined Majesta proved nothing would get in the way of her success.
Valentine completed her first appearance at the NCAA Regionals Saturday, April 4 competing in the all-around at the Morgantown Regional inside the West Virginia Coliseum. She finished 14 overall with a score of 37.975. Valentine posted a 9.70 on the vault, 9.475 on the uneven bars, 9.8 on the balance beam, and a 9.0 on the floor exercise.
“This is a great achievement for Majesta and for our program at West Chester University,” head coach Barbara Cordova said. “Majesta has had an amazing record breaking season. I believe she would agree with me that one of the contributing factors in her success is the team behind her. That is the beauty of collegiate gymnastics, it is all about the team!”
Valentine and seven of her teammates will be back in action next weekend at the 2015 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships that will be held in The Palestra on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. The preliminary rounds begin on Friday, April 10 at 2 p.m. A second preliminary round will commence at 7 p.m. that evening. The individual event finals will be held on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
Lauren Bilenki is a fourth-year student majoring in accounting and finance. She can be reached at LB759145@wcupa.edu.