Washington City gymnastics team takes home state honors

ST. GEORGE — A local youth gymnastics team earned hardware in the 2020 Utah Compulsory Fall Championship in Bountiful on Nov. 21.

Coral Peak Gymnastics at the 2020 Utah Compulsary Gymnastics State Championships at Mountain West Gymnastics Academy in Bountiful, Utah on Nov. 21, 2020 | Photo courtesy of Coral Peak Gymnastics, St. George News

Compulsory gymnastics is broken down into development levels, then age groups, wherein each gymnast performs the same routine. Coral Peak Gymnastics out of Washington City won the state championships for one level and came in a close second in another, claiming a bevy of individual awards along the way.

“This is a dream come true,” Coral Peak club owner and coach Beth Julian told St. George News. “It is not only a win for Coral Peak but for gymnastics in Southern Utah and for our community as a whole.”

Brinlee Tuttle, a competitor in the Level 4 division, earned the highest aggregate score in her division and tied for third-highest of all 144 competitors across all levels at the meet with a 37.925 out of a possible 40 points across four events.

She scored in three of those events to contribute to Coral Peak’s 114.125, not just winning the state title for the level but scoring higher than any team at any level in the event. Coral Peak’s Level 3 team scored 111.450, sixth highest of the 14 teams competing and just .300 behind Olympus Gymnastics for the top spot in its bracket.

Tuttle, Tate Miller, and Olivia Gilberg were named all-around state champions in Level 4, and teammates Emma Delacruz and Kinley Swindlehurst came in second. Tessa Hunt, London Squires and Whitney Adamson claimed third-place spots for Coral Peak.

Coral Peak Gymnastics at the 2020 Utah Compulsary Gymnastics State Championships at Mountain West Gymnastics Academy, Bountiful, Utah, Nov. 21, 2020 | Photo courtesy of Coral Peak Gymnastics, St. George News

The three all-around champs also all took home first-place honors in vault, and Tuttle and Gilberg also won floor exercise, alongside teammates Adamson and Swindlehurst.

Allie Davis led the way for Level 3, scoring a level-high 37.100, placing second in three events and third in vault in her age group. Addie Blad took second place in the level with a 36.925.

Eva Parry joined Davis and Blad as all-around state champions for Level 3, winning the state title for vault and balance beam.

For one Coral Peak coach, Yvonne Swinson, a shining moment came when Parry was joined by Khiana Benson as a winner of the balance beam state championship. Swinson said the 9-year-old Benson is a model for what they’re trying to do at the gym.

“She does not have the typical gymnast body type, and she was a little bit older than some of our other girls when she came into the sport,” Swinson said. “It was beautiful. It was one of the best moments of the day.”

“It’s one thing to take a talented kid, combine them with some talented coaching and produce a star athlete,” she continued. “It’s another thing to take a kid who loves gymnastics and wants to do the sport but doesn’t bring an exceptional level of talent to the table and to be able to develop them into a great gymnast anyway.”

Swinson said the goal of Coral Peak is to make the gymnasts into the best they can be while teaching them how to be successful in other aspects of life. Success in competition has come as well.

Coral Peak built a program in right around five years that has competed with more established northern Utah programs in both optional and now compulsory gymnastics, the latter of which Swinson said has proven to be more competitive.

It was the first state tournament win in a compulsory event for a club owned by Julian in more than 10 years, and the first since moving from Arizona to Utah to open Coral Peak.

Coral Peak returns to action in the spring with optional events, including hosting an event in Hurricane in early March.

The following are the rosters from the two Coral Peak teams at the meet:

Coral Peak Gymnastics Level 4

Whitney Adamson

Emmry Davidson

Emma Delacruz

Elena Dover

Maylee Dunkley

Olivia Gilberg

Kylie Healy

Tessa Hunt

Angel Hustead

Lindy Larsen

Tate Miller

Reagan Rivera

London Squires

Kamryn Stewart

Kinley Swindlehurst

Brinlee Tuttle

Phoenyx Twelves

Coral Peak Gymnastics Level 3

Ellie Armstrong

Khiana Benson

Addie Blad

Ady Christensen

Allie Davis

Riley Goff

Kambri Harris

Fallyn Harward

Presli Hayes

Eva Parry

Harley Penrod

KK Peterson

Olivia Terry

Ava Tuttle

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.

Update Dec. 3, 2 p.m. Rosters updated to show full team

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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