SUDBURY – Over 110 high school gymnasts from Northern Ontario gathered at the Gym Zone Gymnastics Club in Sudbury on Monday, May 6 to compete in the annual NOSSA Championship. Five athletes from Manitoulin Secondary School also participated, and once again posted impressive results.
The top 10 results are as follows: In level 1, Mary Hore placed 4th on bars and 9th on floor, while Kyleigh Biedermann placed 6th on beam, 8th on vault, 10th on floor, and 8th all-around.
In level 2, Sophie Hietkamp (in her first meet ever), placed 2nd on beam, 6th on vault, 7th on bars, 9th on floor, and 8th all-around. Morgan Wall-Varey overcame injury to compete very well on vault and beam.
In level 5, which had the strongest field of athletes ever represented at Northern Ontario Secondary School Athletics (NOSSA), Mackenzie Cortes placed 4th on vault, and 8th on beam.
“All of our athletes demonstrated wonderful resilience at this meet, overcoming injury and nerves and really pulling things together,” said coach Jill Ferguson. “The girls surpassed our expectations, and we couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Unfortunately, due to decreasing numbers across the province, high school girls’ gymnastics can no longer host an Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) festival or championship. As a result, the NOSSA championship was the last competition of the season.
The coaches (Jill Ferguson and Heather Theijsmeijer) were extremely grateful for all of Zoe Smith’s help as manager in keeping things organized and accessible during the meet, and to all the Manitoulin parents who came out to cheer on the team.
