Daggett’s gymnastics team wins state and regional titles!

The boys’ gymnastics team from Tim Daggett’s Gold Medal Gymnastics in Agawam, Massachusetts, has had tremendous success this season at both the state and regional levels. The Level 9 team recently took first place at the 2007 Massachusetts State Championships March 10^th, and continued their reign at the Region Six Championships, March 24^th and 25th, where Daggett’s gymnasts dominated the New England region with nine first place event titles including an additional top three sweep in the all-around. The Level 9 athletes, ages 12-13, have all qualified for the 2007 Men’s USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic Nationals and will travel to Oklahoma, May 9-13^th, where they’ll compete with the best gymnasts in the country at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City.

Paul Wood of Hardwick, along with Josh Ungar and Jonathan Deaton both from Longmeadow, led the team at the top. Wood won the Level 9 all-around at both the state championship meet and the New England regional championships. At states Wood also placed first on parallel bars with a 9.4 and floor exercise with a 9.35. At regionals he placed first on parallel bars (9.05), high bar (8.8), and secured the winning all-around at 51.750! Wood continued on top with another win on parallel bars during the next day’s event finals. Josh Ungar was still recovering from injury and unable to compete at the state meet, but he posted a strong second place score in the all-around at regionals with a 51.225. Ungar claimed first on floor with a 9.225 and pommel with an 8.7 and went on to capture three more first place wins on floor, pommel, and high bar the second day of competition in the event finals. Jonathan Deaton placed a close second to Wood in the all-around at states at 50.90 and took first place on high bar (8.9) and floor (tying Wood with a 9.35.) At regionals Deaton captured third all-around with a 50.150 and second on floor with a 9.20. Deaton has enjoyed an overall winning season; earlier this year he placed third all-around with a 51.90 at the very large Brian Babcock Invitational meet in Pennsylvania.

Continuing the Level 9’s winning streak, Carter Levreault of South Hadley, unable to compete in the all-around at states due to injury, came back strong at regionals placing first in vault with an 8.4, second on rings (8.550) and third on pommel (8.3), finishing fifth all-around with a 49.750. Danny DiBenedetto from Vernon, CT, placed third at states on floor (9.1), parallel bars (8.9), and high bar (8.35) with a fourth place 48.750 all-around. At regionals he placed sixth posting the same score. Tyler Curran of Westfield placed third on vault at states with an 8.0, sixth all-around, and twelfth all-around at regionals. Sam Hayashida from Suffield, CT, placed first on rings at states with an 8.3 and eleventh all-around at regionals. Each of the seven gymnasts on the Level 9 team finished in the top half.

All Daggett’s Level 7 and 6 gymnasts also qualified to compete at both state and regional championships. In the Level 7 (12+ age group) Devin Clarke of East Hartford, CT, took first on floor at states (9.35) and again at regionals with an impressive 9.65! He placed second at states on high bar, but went on to win the event at regionals with an 8.85, and claimed second all-around there with a 51.350. Jesse Coull of Amherst placed third on rings with an 8.8, fourth on high bar (8.55) and fourth all-around with 51.050. Raleigh Venne of Granby placed sixteenth at regionals. The youngest Level 6, Peter Daggett from East Longmeadow, placed first at states on parallel bars with a 9.25 and second all-around (in the 8-9 age group) with a 51.70. At regionals he placed third on floor (8.8), rings (8.5) and parallel bars (8.9), finishing fourth place all-around with 51.650. In the 10-11 age group, JD Allsup from Somers, CT, placed fourth on pommel with a 9.1 and sixth all-around with a high 54.05. Dimitri Pixley of Pittsfield scored an outstanding 9.4 on high bar earning second place on that event.

Level 5 Ben Provost of South Hadley also qualified to compete at the New England regional meet where he placed fifth on vault with a near-perfect score of 9.8! Provost finished twelfth all-around with a 53.850 in a very large 7-9 age group (comprised of sixty athletes.) The following Level 5 gymnasts qualified to the state championships in their first year of competitive gymnastics: Nathan Florence, Benjamin Provost, Colin Radon, Teaanou Gonzalez, Ethan Whitton, Anthony Whitton, Trevor Allsup, Corey Clemente, and Brandon Klein. Eric Mau was unable to compete due to injury.

The boys’ team is coached by Lorenzo Macaluso, Tim Daggett, Patrick McFarlin, and Steven Gaudette. It is one of the top-ranked clubs in the country.