By Alex Forrest
Review Intern
The Lake Orion Field House played host to the boys state gymnastics meet for the first time ever.
The meet was sponsored by the Gymnastic Training Center of Rochester (GTC) and the Classic Booster Club (CBC) on Sat. Mar. 21.
‘I received numerous compliments from all around that this was the best state meet held in 20 years,? said Shawn Clement.
Clement is GTC’s assistant director and the USA Gymnastics Michigan Men’s State Chair.
The boys compete in all six Olympic events which include floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars and the horizontal bar.
There are three young boys from Lake Orion who competed at the state meet.
Dominik Isham, a level eight gymnast, placed first on the floor exercise, third on parallel bars and fifth all-around.
Brandon Moore, a level nine gymnast, place fourth on vault, fifth on parallel bars and eighth all-around.
Alex Krystek, another level nine gymnast, placed fifth on vault and tied Moore for the rest of the events.
‘I think as a whole, GTC performed very well,? Clement said.
The teams placed as follows: level four took sixth; level five took eighth; level six took first; and level ten took second.
According to Clement, the level eight team finished in first place thanks in large part to Isham’s strong performance.
The level nine team finished in fourth place and all of the athletes qualified to go on to the Region Five championships on April 3-5.
‘Alex and Brandon need a very strong performance at the championships if they are to qualify for the Junior Olympic Championships in May,? added Clement.
GTC runs the Crowder Cup every year in honor of Steven Crowder, a former Lake Orion resident and GTC gymnast whose life was taken in a car accident.
This was the first time GTC has hosted any meet besides the Crowder Cup.
Despite the fact that this was the CBC’s first time conducting such a big meet it went as perfect as could be, according to Clement.
‘The Lake Orion Field House is a great venue,? Clement said. ‘Bill Reiss and the high school staff were very helpful in making sure the event went off without a hitch.?