Meeting This Year's Gymnastics Team
Photo by Kendall Knaps
The gymnastics season started on January 8th and continues until April 8th. The team this year consists of four freshmen, three sophomores, seven juniors, and four seniors. They are led by their coach, Brittany Harris.
The four freshmen consist of Chloe Armentor, Emma Lavelle, Carissa Martinez, and Mylia Vidtor. Armentor came to Centenary from Academy of Our Lady in Harvey, Louisiana. She is a 2016 Louisiana Fruge Award winner and a 2017 Kurt Thomas Event finalist. Armentor is also a 2016-2020 Easterns 8th AA Regional Qualifier and AA Regional Champion. Lavelle is from Lakeshore High School in Mandeville, Louisiana and was their valedictorian. She was a Level 8, 9, and 10 Regional Qualifier. Martinez was previously at Sandia Preparatory School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and she was named an Odyssey Scholar. She was a Regional Qualifier from 2015 to 2021 and earned second place on the vault at 2021 Regionals. At the Pikes Peak Cup, she earned the Nadia Comaneci Award and Best Vaulter Award. Vidtor attended Texas Connections Academy in The Colony, Texas. She is a regional floor champion and a regional qualifier for the years 2015 through 2018.
The three sophomores include Rylie Molina, Roxanne Myers, and Isabel Plaza. Molina is from Moss Bluff, Louisiana and was a 2015 Nationals Alternate. She was a regional Qualifier from 2013 to 2018 and was a state champion in 2016 and 2017. Last year, she scored a season-best of 9.650 on the beam. Myers is from Prairieville, Louisiana and was a Level 10 regional and state qualifier. This will be the first season she will compete at Centenary. Plaza is from San Antonio, Texas. Last year, her best score of the season was 9.575 on the vault.
The seven juniors are Rose Deshler, Kendall Huff, Leilani Johnson, Kennedy Stephens, Lauryn Stiff, Lacey Wedge, and Taylor Ann Wilson. Deshler is from Hastings, Minnesota, and has been named a Midwest Independent Conference Scholar-Athlete and WCGA Academic All-American. Her career-best score is 9.675 on the beam. Huff is from Riviera, Texas and was also named a Midwest Independent Conference Scholar-Athlete and WCGA Academic All-American for the 2019-2020 year. She set a season and career-high score of 9.725 on the floor. Johnson is from Wichita, Kansas, and in her freshman and sophomore years, she was named a Midwest Independent Conference Scholar-Athlete. She has a record season-high score of 9.700 on the floor and earned a season and career-best score of 9.650 on the vault. Stephens is from Bella Vista, Arkansas. She recorded a season and career-best of 9.650 on the beam in the Metroplex Challenge and was named a MIC Scholar-Athlete. Stiff is from Branson, Missouri, and this will be her second year competing due to injury her freshman year. She scored a season and career-best of 9.625 on the vault in the Metroplex Challenge, along with another season and career-best of 9.425 on the bars. Stiff was named a MIC Scholar-Athlete. Wedge is from Belle Chasse, Louisiana and has yet to formally compete; however, she did an exhibition on the floor several times and was named a MIC Scholar-Athlete. Wilson is from Memphis, Tennessee and has made history claiming the individual bars title at the 2021 USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate National Championship. She is Centenary’s first gymnast to win an individual title at the USAG National Championships in the Division III Era. Wilson was also named a First-Team All-American on the bars and a MIC Scholar-Athlete.
The team’s four seniors are Xian Baumgartner, Kendall Knaps, Madison McCary, and Kendall Sanders. Baumgartner is from Albuquerque, New Mexico and was named a First-Team All-American by USA Gymnastics after the 2021 Women’s Collegiate National Championships. She set a new career-high on vault with a score of 9.525. Knaps is from Prairieville, Louisiana and has competed on bars, beam, and floor. She scored a season and career-best of 9.775 on the beam and was named a MIC Scholar-Athlete. McCary is from Ozark, Missouri and did not get to compete her first two years. However, this will be the last year she gets to compete because she will be graduating a year early. She previously won multiple regional and state awards, and both qualified and placed at the Westerns Championship in 2017. Sanders is from Spring Branch, Texas and named a First-Team All-American by USA Gymnastics on both the floor and in the all-around. She earned all-conference honors at the MIC Championships. She earned a new career-high of 9.825 on the floor at the USAG Championships and set new career-high scores on bars and vault. Sanders was also named a MIC Scholar-Athlete.
As you can see, this team is full of talented gymnasts, and we are excited to see what this new season has in store.
