The 2016 Level 9 Eastern Nationals were held April 28-May 1 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Unfortunately our Media Team was not able to attend the competition, so we asked coaches, parents and athletes to send us videos, pictures, updates and for the All-Around Champions to fill out our Region 5 National Champions Q&A.
Tristan Brown of Gedderts Twistars USA in Michigan was the 2016 Level 9 Eastern National Senior 6 All-Around Champion.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! How does it feel to be the 2016 Level 9 Eastern National Senior 6 All-Around Champion?
It feels really good! Going into the competition I really wasn’t expecting to win. When Brett called me over and showed me off of his phone that I won I was so happy and proud of myself!
Tell us how your meet went for you? Walk us through each moment of your day, warm-ups, events Etc……
My meet went a lot better than I expected. We started on vault and vault makes me really nervous so I had to take a lot of deep breaths to stay calm. After I competed vault I felt really good because those were some of my best vaults all year long. Next we went to bars and during warm-up on one of my teammates ended up getting injured and couldn’t compete the rest of the meet. At that moment I knew that I had to do my very best on everything else. After I competed bars I felt it was really good. Then we went to beam and I had a solid warm-up. I wasn’t that nervous to compete beam, which is unusual. After I stayed on the beam I was so happy because I didn’t fall at all this year at any competition! Then we went to floor! Floor is so fun to compete because there really is no stress in it! I showed off my routine the best I could. After it was over Brett was super happy and was saying “That’s gonna do it!’ I wasn’t quite sure what he meant, but I had a clue! After everyone was finished he called me over and told me that I was the All-Around Champion. I couldn’t of been more happy with myself!
What do you normally do between events to stay focused and read for the next event?
When I changed in between events I normally start to say keywords for the next event. If I do good on the event my confidence is high and I try to keep it that way. If I don’t do as good as I wanted I take deep breaths to calm me down and start to gain my confidence back up and act like that didn’t happen because I can’t let one thing ruin my competition.
Tell us about the atmosphere of the meet compared to regular season meets you have been too.
I think that the atmosphere was more exciting! Everybody worked so hard to get there and everybody is so happy to be there! There was a lot of cheering and it was just so awesome with all the adrenaline
.
What is it like being part of Region 5 at Eastern Nationals?
Being part of Region 5 feels almost like a family. You literally meet the girl you compete with and like right away we all body really well and it feels like we’ve known each other for a long time. Also, all the coaches get really fired up which gets the athletes fired up and it just makes for an awesome time!
How has your experience been here at Nationals? What have you been doing besides competing?
I stayed in a house that we rented with all my teammates that made it to nationals and it was just super fun to be with them all the time. We get to really see their personalities outside of the gym and it’s just really awesome! On our last day at nationals we hung out on the beach and it was so fun to have a beach day with all my girls!
When the meet is over what is or what was the first thing you did to celebrate your win?
To celebrate my win we just went out to eat with my teammates and my coach and it was just a fun time!
Other than becoming National Champion, what was one highlight of the meet for you?
One highlight of the day was just getting so close with the girls I competed with. I love meeting new people so it was just an awesome experience. Also all those Region 5 cheers were amazing!
Anything crazy or funny happen during your competition?
One crazy thing that happened was when we were warming up for bars all of a sudden I looked over to who was going and I saw one of the girls laying on the mat with coaches around her and I was like “oh no”. Then the training came over and looked at her, she need up spraining her knee so she couldn’t compete the rest of the meet. It was really sad but all of us pushed through and finished off strong and took the win!
How does Region 5 compare to the other Regions out on the competition floor? what sets Region 5 apart?
Region 5 is a lot more energetic. We cheer more and I just feel like other Regions are laid back and cheer only a little bit, but Region 5 is super loud and just looks like we are having the time of our lives!
Who inspired you the most during your competition or day? What did they say to you? How did you get amped up and motivated to compete?
My coach, Brett Wargo, inspired me the most today. He told me that if I went out there and did my job and competed like I have been competing I would have an amazing day. So, I did just that and ended up winning!
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