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20 Questions with JO National Qualifier Sarah Moraw (Champion USA)

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Our next 20 Questions athlete is one of my absolutely favorites to watch, she flies under the radar a bit, but this year she made a huge statement and qualified to her 1st JO National Championships. Sarah Moraw of Champion USA in Holland, Michigan is a mixture of flexibility, strength, power and grace. To watch her compete is like watching an acrobat flawlessly float through the air with the greatest of ease, she definitely makes everything she does look effortless and flawless. Sarah, who excels on beam & floor, really does not have a weakness in the gym, she shows high difficulty on every event. In 2017 she was on the bubble of making the JO National Team placing as a 2nd alternate in a strong Junior A group. This year at regionals was a lot different, it was her breakout year placing 2nd in the all-around, 1st on the balance beam, 2nd on the floor & 3rd on vault with a strong Yurchenko Full qualifying to her 1st JO National Championships. Sarah took home her first JO Nationals Medal placing 4th on the vault with a 9.600. I definitely see big things for this young athlete in the future. Lets get to know Sarah a little bit better as she continues her summer training in preparation for the upcoming season and another run at the JO National Championships.

 

How did you get into gymnastics? How old were you? I was about 4 years old when my mom signed me up for a Mommy and Me class.

What is your favorite event? My favorite event is either beam or floor.

Favorite Skill to train/compete? I always love when it is time to start training upgrades during the summer. I don’t think I have one favorite but right now, on floor I like to train either double pikes or double arabians.

Dream Skill? One skill I think would be fun to learn is a double twisting double back on floor.

What is your favorite part of gymnastics? My favorite part of gymnastics is learning new and thrilling skills and bonding with my teammates.

What college do you plan on attending? I do not know what college I will be attending. I hope to find one that will be a good fit for me as a student, gymnast and person in general.

What is your favorite meet to compete at? Why? My favorite meet to compete at is my home meet because the energy is always high and exciting and a lot of my family and friends come and support me.

Biggest accomplishment in gymnastics so far? My biggest accomplishment in gymnastics so far is placing second at regionals and qualifying to JO Nationals.

Who do you most admire in the sport of gymnastics? I admire my older teammates at my gym because they have taught me so much like to always have fun, believe in myself and be supportive of others. They have been good role models for me to look up to and are always good about including me.

What is your favorite Region 5 Insider Feature or Series? My favorite Region 5 Insider Feature is the Best Fails.

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What is your go to playlist or song before meets? I don’t have a specific song that I listen to every time, but I like to listen to “September” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”.

3 Things you could not live without? I could not live without my family (including my dog), friends and fuzzy blankets!

If you could be any animal, what animal would you be and why? If I could be any animal, I would probably be a dolphin because I love to swim and flip in the water.

5 Most Important or Must have Items in your gym bag? The 5 most important things in my gym bag would be a leotard, grips, tiger paws, hair ties and water.

Do you have any pre-meet rituals or superstitions? The night before a meet, I like to have some sort of pasta as a pre-meet ritual.

What do you like to do outside of Gymnastics? Outside of gymnastics, I love to spend time with my family, especially at the lake, hang out with friends at school and play lacrosse.

Most embarrassing meet moment or gymnastics moment? My most embarrassing gymnastics moment was when I landed a dismount off bars and turned towards the left and saluted and to find that the judges weren’t there; they were on the other side.

If you weren’t a gymnast, what sport would you do or try? If I wasn’t a gymnast, I would continue to play volleyball and lacrosse and maybe try golf.

Which athletes (any sport) do you respect the most and why? I respect any athletes that are willing to sacrifice and try their best in the sport that they love.

What is the most valuable piece of advice or wisdom your coach has given you? The most valuable piece of advice my coach has given me is to not be too hard on myself because I am capable of way more than I think I am.

 

Bonus Question:   Tell me something interesting about yourself….Something interesting about me is that I love to tell jokes at practice and I like to snow and water ski.


Check out Sarah’s JO Nationals Gallery Here
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Making Moves Monday (July 2, 2018)

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Region 5 is making their move into 2019. Check out some of the new skills being done from our gymnasts around the Region. If you want your upgrades to be included in future Making Your Move posts upload your video to your Instagram page (must be public or put up on gym IG) and tag us @region5gyminsider.  #R5MakingMovesMonday

Sydney Washington (Gym America) New 1 1/2 on Vault and Front to Double Back Floor


Kaia Tanskanen (Michigan Elite) Full Twisting Double Back


Julia Armbrust (GymNasti) Yurchenko Full

Summer upgrades!!

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Brenna Hauser (JPAC) Nice Layout Full Out Dismount on Bars

Brenna getting ready with a big upgrade

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Annabelle Schneider (American Flames) Getting Close to her BHS Straight Body Layout on Beam (SWEET!)


Skyla Schulte (Phenom) showing off her new Double Double on floor

Skyla S.—double double!

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Lia Kmieciak (Phenom) Layout Full Out in the works off bars

Lia K., class of 2021

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Meaghan O’Connor (Premier West) Swinging a BIG Double Double tuck off bars at Iowa State Camp. 

Double the flips double the twists @region5gyminsider

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20 Questions with 2x JO National Qualifier Adriana Bustelo (CGA)

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Our next 20 Questions athlete is Adriana Bustelo from Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy in Ohio. Adriana, who has started her gymnastics career in Virginia, has found a home with CGA since moving with her family to Ohio in 2013. Adriana, who has competed in 2 JO Nationals, is a beautiful gymnast to watch overall the gym with her long flowing lines, perfect extension and exquisite leaps and jumps. Watching Adriana perform is like watching poetry in motion. Adriana qualified to her 2nd JO Nationals in 2018 after missing out on the chance due to injury in 2017, however her road to the 2018 JO Nationals was not an easy one. Due to a nagging wrist injury that just did not seem to be healing Adriana was forced to make the tough decision to undergo wrist surgery in November 2017. Once returning to training Adriana was definitely limited in what she was able to do and found herself unable to compete for most of the season. The Kalahari Lua in Leos, held the weekend before state meet, was her first competition competing all 4 events since JO Nationals in 2017. Adriana certainly proved that she was a fighter who was not going to back down from her goals, she went on to have strong finishes at both the Ohio State Meet, finishing 3rd All-Around,  and Region 5 Championships finishing 7th in the All-Around and earning herself a spot on the Region 5 Dream Team. Lets get to know this incredible athlete a little better as she heads into the summer season and prepares for a chance to qualify for her 3rd JO National Championships in 2019.

How did you get into gymnastics? How old were you? I was put into gymnastics classes, when I was about 3 years old, because I was a child that could never stay still. I would jump from sofa to sofa, swing from a chandelier, and do a bunch of crazy things (and yes, I did swing from a chandelier) I absolutely loved the classes, so I stayed in the sport and I have currently been in the sport for 12 years.

What is your favorite event? Beam is my favorite event because I think its pretty cool that we can basically use a four inch piece of wood as a floor and do unimaginable things on it.

What is your favorite skill to train/compete? My favorite skill to train is Double Arabians off the floor.

What is your dream skill? My dream skill is Full twisting double layout off bars.

What is your favorite part of gymnastics? My favorite part of gymnastics is all of it because we defy gravity doing these crazy things and it is the closest to flying, which I have always wanted to be able to do.

What college do you plan on attending? I am not quite sure where I will be headed for college.

What is your favorite meet to compete at? J.O. Nationals has got to be my favorite meet because the gymnasts get all of the attention and we get pampered as they do our hair and makeup and we are being cheered on by coaches and athletes that I have competed against before. It just feels like a huge family of gymnasts.

What is your biggest accomplishment in gymnastics so far? My biggest accomplishment has been making it to J.O. nationals this year because I had a wrist surgery back in November 2017 and I was told I was most likely not going to be able to compete this season but my determination to get back into the sport was so strong that I was able to come back stronger than ever.

Who do you most admire in the sport of gymnastics? I admire Amelia Hundley so much because she would always have such a positive attitude back in the gym, even if she was having the worst day of her life. Her determination to get better was so strong that there was no one that could stop here from progressing and becoming stronger every day.

What is your favorite Region 5 Insider Feature or Series? My favorite Region 5 Series is the “OMG Bloopers” because I can relate to so many of those fails that I find it super funny.

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What is your go to playlist or song before meets? I have a playlist on my phone that I labeled “I Got This” and it has songs like “Ten feet Tall”, “Hall of Fame”, “On Top of the World”, “Overcomer”, “Unstoppable”, and many other pump up songs.

3 Things you could not live without? Three things I cannot live without are my phone, food, and my family.

If you could be any animal, what animal would you be and why? If I were an animal, I would be a giraffe because I have really long legs

5 Most important or Must have items in your gym bag? Five super important things in my gym bag are my grips, tiger paws, deodorant, hair brush, and an extra leo.

Do you have any pre-meet rituals or superstitions? Yes, I am a very superstitious person. I have to use the Stress Relief Bath Fizzy from Bath and Body Works before every meet

What do you like to do outside of Gymnastics? I love to bake. I love hanging out with my friends and family. I listen to music or find some sort of craft to do.

Most embarrassing meet moment or gymnastics moment? I was being spotted by Whitney on tkatchevs in the trench bar and I had a boot on at the time. Since my leg was being weighed down by the boot it fell faster than it should of so I ended up kicking Whitney right in the head

If you weren’t a gymnast, what sport would you do or try? I would try cross country because I have such long legs. Everyone says I would be good at diving since I have pretty good air awareness, but I am pretty terrified of just jumping off the diving board, so I don’t think I would be very good at that.

Which athletes (any sport) do you respect the most and why? I admire Monica Puig, Olympic Tennis Player for Puerto Rico, because, first of all, she is Puerto Rican, just like me, and second off all, Puerto Rico had never gotten a gold medal at the Olympic Games until Monica Puig achieved it at Rio. She made her unthinkable dream come true and she kept pushing to make sure she would achieve what she had come for.

What is the most valuable piece of advice or wisdom your coach has given you? “Things happen for a Reason” I had broken my foot in the summer of 2016 and after I was back on my feet, I broke my big toe. I was in my growing stage and my bones were super fragile.  Whitney and Rachael told me “Things happen for a reason.” Though I did have to sit out for most of the 2016-2017 season. I came back stronger than ever for 2018 season and even managed to place 8thon Floor at Nationals

Bonus Question: Tell me something interesting about yourself……I speak fluent Spanish because both my parents are from Puerto Rico and I am very proud to be Puerto Rican

Monday Mash Up: 2018 Region 5 JO National Bars

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Mash together video of our 2018 Region 5 JO National Bars. In this video we mashup those Region 5 gymnasts who finished in the top 3 on bars at JO Nationals.

Making Moves Monday (June 25, 2018)

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Region 5 is making their move into 2019. Check out some of the new skills being done from our gymnasts around the Region. If you want your upgrades to be included in future Making Your Move posts upload your video to your Instagram page (must be public or put up on gym IG) and tag us @region5gyminsider.  #R5MakingMovesMonday

JPAC rocking out the Yurchenko 1 1/2’s this summer

Big new tricks from Kiara, Helena, & Katie?‍♀️

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Ariana Gilley (Flip Zone) Hindorff on Bars


JPAC- Nice Wiler Kip Combo on low bar from Bailey (future Hopes competitor) 

Fun new combo in the works! Nice job Bailey

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Jenni Anderson (Michigan Elite)  Gienger on Bars


Olivia Bowsman (BIG) New Tkatchev 

Doing BIG girl skills!!! @oliviabgymnastics.2021

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Meaghan O’Connor ( Premier West) Endo on bars (one of my favorite skills)

Training endos ??‍♂️ @region5gyminsider

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