Canmore is now home to three provincial gymnastics champions.
Luke Fricker, Spencer Funk and Erika Lepper claimed top spot in their events on April 16 in Lethbridge, defeating many of the top gymnasts in Alberta.
“It was a very tight competition and a very good first experience at provincials,” said girls head coach Marilou Gariepy.
All of the Canmore Illusions girls came home with at least one medal from provincials.
Lepper, competing in her first provincial competition, won the gold medal in uneven bars in the P2 Argo competition.
Canmore actually took both top spots in the uneven bars, as Skylar Belczyk grabbed silver on the uneven bars and was also given a ‘most dynamic bars special award’ for her efforts. The duo defeated 22 other competitors to bring the medals home.
Lepper also finished 12th on the beam, good enough for 10th overall in her age category.
Belczyk was 17th in her age category.
In P2 Tyro, Abby Houck was third on the bars to win the bronze medal and finished fifth in the all-around competition.
Tess Engel also brought home a bronze on the beam in the P3 Open.
On the boy’s side, Fricker captured top spot on the high bar, much to the delight of his coaches.
“This was Luke’s first season as a competitive gymnast,” said boys head coach Kelly Mock. “He’s done well on high bar. That’s his strong event. He had the routine of the year at the provincials in front of an Olympic-level judge.”
Fricker finished eighth overall in his age group competing against 33 other athletes.
The Illusions’ most decorated athlete proved to be Funk, who won four medals in the Level 1 competition for athletes 10 and under.
Funk won gold on the pommel horse, silver on high bar and bronze in rings. That was good enough for a silver medal in the all-around scoring, as Funk placed fifth on the vault and seventh on the parallel bars.
“Spencer had no big mistakes. He was cleaner and tighter than he’s ever been. All his routines were high quality,” Mock said.
Also competing for the boys, Devin Manktelow won two medals – a silver on the pommel and bronze on the parallel bars. He was also in the top 10 for the rest of his events, grabbing fifth overall in his age category.
“He did incredibly well. He stuck all of his landings and got the highest scores of his life,” Mock said.
Cole Richardson just missed the podium with a fourth-place finish on the vault. Dallas Funk was also in the top 10 in the vault (sixth) and Ian Cram posted a fourth on parallel bars and seventh on the vault.
In order to reach the provincials, Canmore posted strong results at the zones in Calgary. Gariepy was impressed with how the team performed at that level as well.
“Only one (athlete) had experienced zones before. It was good to see even with the pressure of qualification, they showed strong routines,” she said. “Many were doing it for the first time. “
The zones were the top level of competition for the younger gymnasts. Gariepy said for many it was the most important meet of the season, and the team performed well.
Lindsay Bischoff won two bronze medals (floor, bars) in the P1 Tyro, while Tori Kelly was fourth on the beam.
“It was good to see Lindsay get her medal in two events. She was away the week before, but did train in Winnipeg,” Gariepy said. “Tori also had a strong routine.”
Nalia Evans-Guite brought home the most hardware in the P1 Novice competition. In a small group, she won the gold on beam, silver on bars and floor and bronze on vault. That was good enough for silver all-around.
“She also fulfilled her personal goals,” Gariepy said.
The competition was the last of the season for the gymnasts, who were able to gain valuable experience looking ahead to next season.
