Senior Spotlight: 2017 JO National Qualifier Mackenna Linnen from Gym America. Mackenna talks about her role as a senior and then impact she has on her team. At Gym America the motto is Character for Life and she embodies this inside and outside of the gym. 2016 was a difficult year as she had to work through back and leg injuries and had a disappointing ending to the season but used that has motivation to have one of her best season in this her senior year. She will be headed to West Virginia in the fall and already feels right at home and part of the team. Her leadership qualities will transfer nicely over to her college experience and Claudia, her coach, says that a perfect 10 on beam is in her future and is excited to see what the future holds for Mackenna. A hard working athlete who strives for what she wants all with a positive attitude.
We have reached the end of our 2017 Level 9 Eastern National Championships coverage. Region 5 ended the weekend the same way it started with a National All-Around Champion being crowned. Olivia Kavanaugh, of Wright’s Gymnastics in Indiana, competing in the last session of the weekend took the top spot for Region 5 becoming the 2017 Level 9 Eastern National AA Champion and the 8th Region 5 athlete to win the All-Around Title. Olivia, who is a senior, competed in the last meet of her career in Diamondale. Let’s get to know Olivia a little better and how it was representing Region 5 at Nationals for the first/last time.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! How does it feel to be the 2017 Eastern National Senior 8 All-Around Champion? It was incredible! This is the first time I have qualified to nationals. I am a senior in high school and to end my gymnastics career like this was perfect.
Tell us how your meet went today? Walk us through each moment of your day, warm ups, events etc…. I was there watching my teammates compete in the morning session. Watching them got me really excited for my session. It was bittersweet at the beginning of warm-ups because I knew this was my last competition of my gymnastics career. Throughout warm-ups, my region 5 team got to know one another. March-in was a very cool experience…electrifying. My first event was vault. This is the hardest event for me, so I was glad to have it first. Warm-ups went really well, and my two competition vaults were even better. It felt great to do well on my first event of the day. My next event, bars, is my favorite event. Warm-ups went extremely well, and when I landed me double-back dismount in my competition routine, I knew I couldn’t have asked for a better routine to end on at Nationals. Next, we were off to beam. I had a little bit of a rough warm-up because I was having a difficult time sticking my series. However, when it came time to my judged routine, I was able to stick my series as well as my other skills. My last event was floor. Knowing this was my last routine I would ever compete, I wanted to leave it all out there on the floor. I had a lot of energy (I stepped out of bounds on my first pass, a double back). I finished the routine strong and was able to stick my 1 1/2 front pike. After landing this pass and hearing my teammates cheering for me, I realized that that was one of the moments you want to remember for the rest of your life. Even after finishing the competition, I knew I had done well, but I had no idea that I had won. All of my teammates and coaches and even my family knew that I had won, but none of them told me. When they announced my name as the all-around champion I was both excited yet so astonished at the same time.
What do you normally do between events to stay focused and ready for the next event? Between events, I usually envision my routines in my head and go through/over the corrections that my coaches have given me to stay focused and ready for the next event.
Tell us about the atmosphere of the meet compared to regular season meets you have been too. There was much more energy in the atmosphere at Nationals compared to the regular season meets. The crowd was much more involved and it was really awesome getting to know the girls on my region 5 team.
What is it like being part of Region 5 at Eastern Nationals? (be descriptive) Being on the region 5 team, I could feel that everyone had the same goal…win as a team. There were lots of cheering and the coaches all worked together. I could tell that everyone was proud to be a part of the region 5 team.
How has your experience been here at Nationals? What have you been doing besides competing? It has been incredible. From training day to competition day, I enjoyed every moment of it. All of my teammates qualified to Nationals either as competitors or alternates, so we did a lot of team building activities. We went hiking one day and did the challenges that were there (such as having to get our whole team over a wall).
When the meet is over what is or what was the first thing you did to celebrate your win? The first thing I did to celebrate my win was I went out to eat with my family and teammates. When we got back to the gym on Monday, there was a little celebration for me and my other teammates that also placed at Nationals.
Other than becoming National Champion, what was one highlight of the meet for you today? Another highlight for me was getting to meet a new group of awesome girls and compete with them.
Anything crazy or funny happen during your meet today? Our region 5 team took team bathroom breaks between events, so you would just see a line of girls running in and out of the gym together (not sure if you consider this funny or crazy).
How does Region 5 compare to the other Regions out on the competition Floor? What sets Region 5 apart? On the region 5 team, there was so much more cheering. Region 5 has so much fun on the competition floor because there is a team effort to win. We were focused on the team more than ourselves. It really is a team. Everyone works together.
Who inspired you the most today? What did they say to you? How did you get amped up and motivated today? My mom inspired me the most that day. Before the competition, she told me to have fun and relax and that I got it. (Confidence)
I got motivated for the competition by listening to music and watching my teammates compete in the session before me.
Congratulations to Olivia, her coaches and her family on a successful gymnastics career and finishing it out on top. Congratulations on graduating from High School and moving onto the next chapter of your story.
Sights and Sounds from the 2017 Region 5 Level 7 and 8 Gymnastics Championships. This was the first year of the combined event hosted at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek Michigan by Branch Gymnastics. This competition is filled with those who will represent the Region 5 Dream Team in the upcoming years and is always exciting to see the quality of gymnastics at this meet. This is the first experience these athletes have to represent their particular states and compete as a team for regionally glory. Check out the some gymnastics and behind the scenes highlights for the meet.
Are you a fan of Region 5 Gymnastics? Subscribe to ourYoutube channel! Click on the subscribe button at the bottom right corner of the video.
The Level 9s from Ohio really cleaned up in Diamondale, 5 out of the 8 Region 5 All-Around Champions hail from Buckeye country. Our next 2017 Level 9 Eastern National All-Around Champion is Kelsey Kollhoff of Gym-Nation. Not only did Kelsey top the podium in the All-Around, but she also hit a huge beam routine to take the 2017 Level 9 National Beam title. Lets find out how Kelsey celebrated her Senior 3 All-Around win, and what it was like competing in Diamondale.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! How does it feel to be the 2017 National Senior 3 All-Around & Beam Champion? It feels good to know that all my hard work paid off and that all the hard practices were worth it. Tell us how your meet went today? Walk us through each moment of your day, warm ups, events etc…. We started on vault and warm ups were really good, Once warm ups were over we did a chant and then started. I wasn’t nervous at all and my first vault was really good. My second Vault landed a little short but it was still good. We went to bars and I started to get a little nervous because bars is my weakest event. We started warming up and warm ups were really good. My routine was probably the best one I’ve ever done in my whole life. After bars I could relax because beam and floor are easy for me. Beam warm-ups didn’t go as well as planned because my switch leap wasn’t really working but I figured it out. I wasn’t nervous for my beam routine because I knew I could hit. I hit my routine with no wobbles until my last pivot turn but my dismount was good and it still scored well. We went to floor and warm –ups were really good. I was last so I had to stay warm. I almost fell on my double back, so I thought “I need to make the rest of this routine perfect to make up for that” and the rest was really good. It was my best meet of the year. What do you normally do between events to stay focused and ready for the next event? In between events I use my stress relief hand sanitizer and I only think about the event I am going to. Tell us about the atmosphere of the meet compared to regular season meets you have been too. The atmosphere is a lot calmer, it’s a lot less stressful and the whole experience was a lot more fun. What is it like being part of Region 5 at Eastern Nationals? (be descriptive) Being part of the Region 5 team is one of the most fun times I’ve ever had. All the girls are really supportive of each other and I loved that all the girls were really friendly and I think we will all be friends for a very long time. All of the other coaches were very supportive and cared about everyone as well. How has your experience been here at Nationals? What have you been doing besides competing? This experience is one I will always remember. I have been hanging out with my cousins who live here and I toured the University of Michigan and watched my cousin’s lacrosse game.
When the meet is over what is or what was the first thing you did to celebrate your win? On Sunday, I went to the Mall with my cousins to get my ear cartilage pierced and then went to Michigan State University for lunch and Ice cream. Other than becoming National Champion, what was one highlight of the meet for you today? One highlight of the meet was hitting my bar routine and getting my highest score of the season. Anything crazy or funny happen during your meet today? Something funny that happened was when I put my tattoo on it got messed up and it looked really bad How does Region 5 compare to the other Regions out on the competition Floor? What sets Region 5 apart? Region 5 is more like a family and everyone cares about everyone. I think that is what sets Region 5 apart from the other regions. Who inspired you the most today? What did they say to you? How did you get amped up and motivated today? Coach Steve from Illinois inspired me the most he hyped us all up before and after every event. The thing that he said that really inspired was “ Today is the day your dreams come true… Make it count” He helped for every event and made the whole meet a more fun experience.
Congratulations to Kelsey, her coaches and her family on an excellent 2017 Level 9 National Championships. Stay tuned for our final Eastern All-Around Champion as we wrap up the coverage of the 2017 Level 9 Eastern National Championships held right here in Region 5.
Nicole Borkowski of New Heights Gymnastics in Ohio, has come a long way in the last year or so. Nicole has upgraded many of her routines on almost all events, qualified to her first JO Nationals and has really made a name for herself. I truly enjoy watching this athlete especially on vault! Nicole has never disappointment on that event, she can stick a full twisting Yurchenko like its nobodies business. Nicole, who is currently uncommitted, will enter into her senior year in the fall. I cannot wait to see what this next year holds for Nicole. Let’s get to know Nicole a little better as she heads into her last year of gymnastics and sets her sights on obtaining a college gymnastics scholarship.
How did you get into gymnastics? How old were you? I was about 5 years old,
when my parents enrolled me in a summer gymnastics camp. I have been in love with gymnastics ever since!
What is your favorite event? My favorite event is floor.
What is your favorite part of gymnastics? My favorite part about gymnastics is all the great opportunities, lessons, and friends I’ve made because of the sport. Also, I love the feeling after hitting my routines in competition!
What college do you plan on attending? I am currently uncommitted to a college.
What is your favorite meet to compete at? My favorite meet to compete at is my home meet, Luau in Leos, because I love the energy in the gym and the water park!
Biggest accomplishment in gymnastics so far? My biggest accomplishment in my gymnastics career, so far, is either qualifying to J.O. Nationals, or scoring a 10.0 on vault!
Favorite skill to train and/or compete? My favorite skill to train is a full-in and my favorite skill to compete is my Yurchenko full.
Dream skill? My dream skill is a Yurchenko 1 1/2.
Who do you most admire in the sport of gymnastics? I admire Simone Biles.
What is your all-time favorite leotard? Do you still your very first leo? My favorite leotard has a rainbow, mosaic pattern, and is my favorite because it’s really comfortable! I don’t have my very first leo.
What is your favorite movie? My favorite movie is Collateral Beauty.
What is your go to playlist or song before meets? My go to playlist before a meet is pop and today’s hits.
What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be a FBI agent.
Where do you go to High School? I attend Anthony Wayne Hight School.
What is your favorite color? My favorite color is yellow.
What do you like to do outside of Gymnastics? I like to read, bake, and hangout with my friends and family!
Most embarrassing meet moment or gymnastics moment? One day at practice, I wore my leo inside out, and didn’t notice it until about halfway through the practice.
If you weren’t a gymnast, what sport would you do or try? I would probably do dance.
Favorite Vacation Destination? My favorite place to vacation is the Bahamas!
If you could have lunch with anyone dead or alive who would it be and why? I would have lunch with my grandma because she has passed away, and it would be nice to sit and talk with her again.
Tell me something interesting about yourself…. Something interesting about me is I have gone on a hot air balloon ride!
Watch Nicole rock vault at her favorite meet! The 2017 Luau in Leos hosted by New Heights Athletics
