Perfect 10!

History was made at the 2004 Rose City Challenge this past weekend in Portland, OR.  Spencer Smith scored a perfect 10.0 on Parallel Bars; the first one in Black Hills' history.  Prior to this meet, this judge had thrown two perfect 10.0's; one at Regionals two years ago and one to Peter Vidmar (Olympic Gold Medalist '84) at UCLA.  When the score flashed on the reader board, it caused a noticeable buzz around the huge venue.  Dozens of coaches, fellow gymnasts, and spectators approached Spencer with lots of congratulations.  This is a rare moment in our incredibly difficult sport, and Spencer should be very proud of his accomplishments.  Congratulations to Spencer and Coach Bob Young on this monumental accomplishment.

Hall of Flame Classic, Costa Mesa, California

Team Captains Brandilynn Petrukitas and Cortney Krismer show great strides in helping lead their team at the Hall of Flame Classic in Costa Mesa, CA.  Brandilynn won Bars and the All-Around competition as a Level 9 while Cortney won the All-Around competition in the Level 10 division.

Highlights also include Level 9, Elizabeth Hartman with a 1st place finish on beam.  Kendyl Kingery, also a Level 9, continued to show great perserverance and commitment to her team by successfully competing vault while pushing through her fear issues on this event.  Congratulations go to Kendyl for her continued fight in pushing through her fears.

March Madness Cup, Spokane, Washington

Congratulations to BHG Girls' Optional Teams lead by Captain Cortney Krismer.  Cortney finished with the highest All-Around score in the meet.  As the girls' perpare to compete at the Washington State Championships, they have included skills never before used in a competition.  Morgan LaRoque successfully competed a double Arabian on floor; Cortney Krismer was also successful in landing a double layout on floor and a first time ever Yurechenko layout 1/2.

Strong finishes also include 2nd place on Beam, Bars and All-Around by Kendyl Kingery.  Megan Lolley sealed one of the two first place beam titles; finishing with a 9.10 (Level 9) along with teammate Corntey Williams with a 9.25 (Level 10).  Cortney Krismer broke a BHG Level 10 Vault record with a score of 9.70.

"We are focusing on heading into State Championships with the mindset of commitment to excellence while competing every skill that has been in each athletes routines regardless of thier comfort level.  All the girls are ready physically, now they need to mentally push through the fears of competing new skills.  We need to compete to challenge oneself not to control the outcome," says Coach Alisa Deatherage.