CRAG trio dominates at Leapin’ Leprechaun

Emmalyse Bordignon, Reyata Ortiz and Carly Mark of the Cedar Rapids Association of Gymnastics each won five events last weekend at CRAG's Leapin' Leprechaun Invitational.

Bordignon and Ortiz both won the vault, bars, beam, floor exercise and all around in Xcel Silver and Mark captured the same five events in Xcel Diamond.

Amara Isaac (vault, floor) in Gold, and Alivia Foser (vault, beam) and Megan Kiesey (beam, floor) in Platinum were double winners.

Other CRAG winners were Liana Thye (beam) and Londyn Stoffel (beam) in Silver, Lauren Miller (beam) in Gold and Lanie Wood (vault) in Platinum.

Placewinners were Mika Marsh, Mackenzie Blake and Danielle Clayberg in Silver, Grace Noring in Gold, and Emersyn Secora, Maggie Schlamp and Maddie Tumilty in Platinum.

SOMERSAULTS SHINES IN LEPRECHAUN

Kiersten Swart, Ava Christensen and Baylee Gabrielson won two events each and led Somersaults Gymnastics to the Xcel Gold team title at CRAG's Leapin Leprechaun meet.

Swart won the bars and all-around, Christensen the vault and bars, and Garbrielson the bars and all around. Taylor Brejcha (bars) and Tierney Hill (beam) also won gold in the division, and Emma York, Maya Carrizales and Hannan Brandt were top-three finishers.

Somersaults' Bentley Rust (vault, beam) and Emeri Hill (bars, all around) were double winners in Xcel Silver. Other winners were Paige McClintok (floor exercise) in Bronze and Grace Prull (bars) in Platinum.

Other placewinners were Bella Christensen in Bronze, Carly Cronbaugh, Emersyn Connerley, Timberli Hosek, Ella Deiters and Mackenzie Eichhorn in Silver, and Paige Hacke in Platinum.

SOLON'S SNIDER WINS GOLD

Maggie Snider of Solon, featured in The Gazette last week, won a gold medal at the 2018 Pan American Junior Fencing Championships in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Snider came into her first international event seeded 48th of 49 entrants in singles. She went a 5-0 in prelims, earning the No. 3 seed in the elimination bracket and a bye through the round of 64. She then faced back-to-back Costa Rican fencers Marian Cortes (ranked 130 in world) and Karina Dyner Villa (28th). With the home crowd against her, she defeated Cortes, 15-5, in the round of 32, but lost in the round of 16 to Dyner Villa 15-9, finishing ninth overall.

In the team competition, Team USA had a bye through the round of 16, then defeated Puerto Rico, 45-22, Mexico, 45-27, and Colombia, 45-24, en route to the gold medal. Snider came off the bench for the Americans, winning all four of her matches and outscoring her opponents a combined 20-7.