Gymnastic boys take top honors in first big competition
by Misty Volaski

Jan. 19, was a monumentous day for the Ojai Valley Gymnastics Club.
Not only did the boys' team compete in their first meet, but they also took top honors.
As the smallest and newest team at the Camarillo meet (Travis Kananack, Andy Malkin and Devin Beavers), OVGC was the underdog.
However, the boys proved skeptics wrong, placing well in every event -- including the high rings, which OVGC does not yet teach (the boys learned the routine the day of the meet).
The meet, hosted by Stars Gymnastics, found Kananack, Malkin and Beavers scoring highest on the vault. Malkin and Kananack both got Superior Green ribbons (the highest possible score for Class 7), while Beavers got an Excellent Yellow. The boys' average score on still rings was 9.06, enough for an Outstanding Purple ribbon.
Kananack nabbed another Outstanding Purple on parallel bars. He also scored an Excellent Yellow on high bar and two Good Whites on floor and pommel horse.
Malkin had three Excellent Yellows (on floor, parallel bars, and high bar) and a Good White on pommel horse.
Beavers claimed three Yellows on still rings, vault and high bar, as well as three Whites on floor, pommel horse and parallel bars.
Class 7 gymnastics was designed to be an introductory level for young gymnasts. The main purpose is to encourage personal achievement and growth as opposed to gymnast-to-gymnast score compairison. There were also noaAll-around best gymnasts or team scores, as in regular meets.
"Skill combined with adrenaline and overwhelming excitement pushed these boys to win the hearts of the whole stadium," OVGC assistant Cassie Cotham said. "There was no way anyone could miss our shining boys' team."

© 2002 The Ojai Valley News

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