Texas Twisters send 15 to Junior Olympics, claim three medals

By BRAD KEITH

TheFlashToday.com

STEPHENVILLE (August 9, 2016) — Texas Twisters Tumble & Cheer of Stephenville had 15 young athletes qualify for the Junior Olympics and three brought home medals.

Addison Garrett, 8, won a silver medal for placing second in the nation in Level 6 Double Mini after also claiming a silver and two bronze medals at the state competition.

Rebekah Lloyd, 9, earned Junior Olympic bronze for placing third in Level 6 Double Mini. Lloyd, also fifth in the nation in tumbling, was first in state on the floor exercise.

Michael Bolding, 10, won a bronze medal in double mini at the Junior Olympics.

“We had a lot of new kids on the team this year and it was amazing to see how hard they work at such a young age,” said gym director and coach Lisa Pack-Hill, a former Stephenville and Tarleton State cheerleader who has guided numerous Junior Olympic gold medalists in her career. “We have set a standard here that is tough to maintain, but these kids were determined all year and they went out and continued the legacy set by athletes who came before them.”

Garrett, who says her favorite part of tumbling is learning new skills and having great coaches, enjoyed numerous facets of the Junior Olympics.

“Winning this medal,” she immediately listed as her favorite part while holding up the silver medal draped around her neck. “And we listened to music, went to the aquarium and we even got to go to the horse races.”

Garrett says her favorite tumbling events are floor and double mini.

“I want to go up to Level 7 in double mini and all the events, and I want to be a national champion,” Garrett said of her goals in the sport.

Lloyd says coaches and friends make tumbling fun for her.

“I love having my coaches here all the time helping me learn my skills,” said Lloyd. “It’s really fun, I’ve made a lot of friends and they cheer me on.”

She even made friends during the Junior Olympic competition.

“I made some friends in my flights and they helped me when I messed up,” she said.

Like all the Junior Olympians, Lloyd has big goals ahead.

“I really want to get my double full down,” she explained. “I’m already up to Level 9, but I can’t stick my full yet, so I need to get that down.”

Bolding, who is Level 8 on floor, Level 7 on double mini and Level 6 on the trampoline, enjoys the options offered to athletes in the sport of tumbling.

“You can do whatever you like doing and sometimes when you mobilize to a new level you don’t always have to go up, you can stay where you are,” he explained. “I like trying to do the best I can at the competitions and really trying my best at state and regionals to get to the Junior Olympics.”

The Level 5-7 Junior Olympics were in Tulsa, and the Level 8 competition was held in Providence, Rhode Island.