Gymnastics: 21 Flipstar Gymnasts earn 45 top places at Lowell invite

Xcel Silver: From left, Elyse Lindbloom, Olivia Machen, Caitlyn Dean, Emma Burgess, Khloe Pendrick

MCP Sports Coverage is presented by: Smith & Eddy Insurance, VanderHaag Car Sales & Rentals, Mission Graphics, Squires Chiropractic, Fresh Coast Foam and Baker Ford Ludington. 

LOWELL — Flipstar Gymnastics of Ludington had 21 gymnasts travel to Lowell for the Holiday Handsprings Invitational last weekend.

Xcel Ladies: Miriam Wilson, left, and Lindsay Maynard

“It was another great meet for Flipstar,” said Coach Aimee Goff.

The 21 gymnasts earned 87 top three podium awards with 45 of them being first place champion medals.

“We fielded teams at four levels and earned top three teams at each level despite being very small teams,” Goff said. “Our Xcel Platinum earned the Team Champion title while our Xcel Silver Team earned the second place team awards and Xcel Bronze and Xcel Gold each earned the third place team award.”

Miriam Wilson, the sole Xcel Diamond competitor, earned the champion title on all events and all-around with a career high score of 9.7 on uneven bars, a very high score for the Xcel Diamond level.

The Xcel Platinum Team was led by Laney Bottrell who also earned the All-Around Champion title. Bottrell was the champion on vault, uneven bars and balance beam and earned third place on the remaining event. Alyssa Landino also earned the All-Around Champion title for her age division as well as the Champion title on balance beam and floor exercise and second on the remaining two events. Nina Frick and Finley Watson each earned second place all-around in their respective age divisions. Watson earned the Champion title on vault and uneven bars and second place on the other two events. Nina earned the Floor Exercise Champion title and earned two second and one third place event awards. Grace Hasenbank had all podium finishes with second on two events and third on two events for a third place all-around award.

Xcel Gold: From left, Rylee Revolt, Jade Emick, Olivia Brandt

Our Xcel Gold Team earned the third place team award with just three gymnasts, meaning every score counted toward the team score. Jade Emick earned the All-Around Champion title as well as the Champion title on vault, balance beam and floor exercise as well as second place on uneven bars. Olivia Brandt was the Uneven Bars Champion and her score of 9.8 is a new Flipstar Gym Record for Xcel Gold. She also earned two second place awards and one third place award for a second place all-around finish. Rylee Revolt earned a second place podium medal as well as fourth, fifth, and sixth place event medals for a fourth place all-around finish. In the Xcel Gold Ladies Division, Lindsay Maynard earned the Champion title on all events and all-around. Successfully completing a new tumbling pass for the first time in competition was a highlight for Maynard.

Xcel Platinum: From left, Nina Frick, Laney Bottrell, Grace Hasenbank, Alyssa Landino, Finley Watson

Flipstar’s second place Xcel Silver Team was led by Caitlyn Dean who earned the All-Around Champion title and the Champion title on balance beam and floor exercise as well as fourth and fifth place awards. Elyse Lindbloom had all podium finishes with one second and three third place event medals for a second place all-around award. Olivia Machen earned two second and a third place podium awards as well as a fourth place event medal for a third place all-around finish. Emma Burgess was the champion on vault and uneven bars for her age division and also earned fifth and sixth place event medals for a fourth place all-around finish. Khloe Pendrick had a second place podium finish as well as two fifth and one sixth place event awards for a fifth place all-around medal.

Xcel Bronze: From left, Fiona Ewing, Lily Wagner, Kylin VanderPutte

“We had just three of the 25 gymnasts on our bronze team compete at this meet and earn the third place team award,” Goff said. “These three are all new to competition this year and did awesome.”

Kylin Vanderputte led the way earning the All-Around Champion title as well as the Champion title on vault, balance beam and floor exercise and fifth place on the remaining event. Her floor score of 9.75 ties the current Flipstar Gym record for Xcel Bronze floor. Lily Wagner earned the Champion title on vault with a score of 9.9 which sets a new Flipstar Gym record for Xcel Bronze. She also earned the champion title on floor exercise as well as third and fourth place awards on the other two events for a third place all-around medal. Fiona Ewing earned third place podium medals on two events as well as two fourth place awards for the fourth place all-around medal.

Xcel Copper: Paisley Haynes, left, and Aubrey Vronko

“We had two Xcel Copper competitors, both in their first year of competition with this being their first ever away meet and they did amazing.”

Aubrey Vronko earned the Champion title on vault, balance beam and floor exercise in addition to second place on the remaining event for the All-Around Champion title. Paisley Haynes earned the Uneven Bars Champion title as well as second place on the remaining events for a second place all-around award.

“We had just one of our Boys 4X4 team members compete and he did great,” Goff said.

Boys 4X4: Simon Burgess

Simon Burgess earned the All-Around Champion title as well as the Champion title on uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise and second on the remaining event.

“We are so proud of all of these gymnasts,” Goff said. “They did amazing not only with placings, gym records and all of them earning at least one podium medal, but also with supporting each other and friends they’ve made from other teams. Flipstar will have 45 team members traveling to the Winter Classic meet at Lowell High School in January.

Coaches: Please send your results to sports@mediagroup31.com. Fans are welcome to send us game photos.

_______________________________

MCP Sports Coverage is presented by:

Smith & Eddy Insurance, serving west Michigan since 1902, 231-757-4743, smith-eddy.com 

VanderHaag Car Sales & Rentals, 1680 W. US 10-31, Scottville, 231-757-2727,vanderhaagcarsales.com.

Mission Graphics, 113 S. Blaine St., Scottville, 231-845-7030, mymission.graphics;

Squires Chiropractic, 414 W. US 10, Scottville; 231-757-3356, squireschiropractic.com

Fresh Coast Foam, 7440 W. 5 Mile Rd., Irons; 231-510-9513, www.freshcoastfoam.com

Baker Ford Ludington, 3045 W. US 10-31, Ludington, 888-856-9116, bakerfordludington.com

___________________________________

___________________________________

Please Support Local News and Sports Coverage

Receive daily MCP and OCP news briefings along with email news alerts for $10 a month. Your contribution will help us to continue to provide you with free local news. 

To sign up, email editor@mediagroup31.com. In the subject line write: Subscription. Please supply your name, email address, mailing address, and phone number (indicate cell phone). We will not share your information with any outside sources. For more than one email address in a household, the cost is $15 per month per email address.

We can send you an invoice for a yearly payment of $120, which you can conveniently pay online or by check. If you are interested in this method, please email editor@mediagroup31.com and we can sign you up. You can also mail a yearly check for $120 to Media Group 31, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454 (please include your email address).

Payment must be made in advance prior to subscription activation.

We appreciate all our readers regardless of whether they choose to continue to access our service for free or with a monthly financial support.

_____

This story and original photography are copyrighted © 2025, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.

As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.