Mountain Magic climbs to the top in regular season finale
Mar. 22—FAIRMONT — Aerial Port's Mountain Magic gymnastics squad made themselves at home for the No Place Like Home Invitational in Monaca, Pennsylvania, highlighted by a first-place finish in level nine competition.
Participating in the meet alongside a wide range of teams from West Virginia and Pennsylvania, Mountain Magic's level three team placed fourth with 109.325 points, and their level nine team took first with 101.50 points.
"Mountain Magic teams saw a stronger finish in the last regular meet of the season," Gary Rafaloski stated in a media release. "The majority of our girls had better performances in all levels."
Mountain Magic had previously competed at the Make It Count Invitational, which drew teams from 18 different states, on Feb. 17-20 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
The competition was divided among 10 levels of increasing skill, with each level further divided by age and experience into different divisions.
Not quite as far from home this time around, Mountain Magic's level nine team took the gold while staking their claim to the Top 3 individual spots — Kylie Bowsher coming in first, Aniston Hazuka coming in second and Markley White coming in third in their divisions.
At level three, Laurel Long placed first all-around in her division, while Josie Gust placed second and Isabella Bombard placed third in their own respective divisions.
Mountain Magic had three other first-place finishers at different levels and divisions — Reese Commodore at level four, Brooke Naternicola at level seven and Allie Howell at level 10.
Kendall Paugh and Kendall Davis placed third and fourth in level four, both in the Junior C division.
Marley Clutter came in fourth in level seven, and Ella Harvey came in second in level eight.
With a full season's work behind them, Mountain Magic has state competition next on their docket on March 25-26, with regional, multi-state competition following that.
"We now prepare for the WV state meet," Rafaloski said. "We look forward to a continued improvement at states."
Reach Nick Henthorn at 304-367-2548, on Twitter @nfhenthorn_135 or by email at nhenthorn@timeswv.com.
