By Wayne Witkowski
Brooke McNamara, a Level 9 gymnast reaching the Eastern Nationals for the first time, earned a medal in the vault with an eighth-place finish off a score of 9.4 at the Summit Sports and Ice Complex in Lansing, Michigan, last weekend.
“I’ve been really powerful in the vault,” said McNamara, an eighth-grade student at Howell Middle School North. “I’ve been able to do it really well now.”
Each gymnast gets two attempts in each of the four events, and McNamara got her score on the second attempt. The top eight places earned a medal.
McNamara had gotten a score of 9.45 in vault — the highest score — in the Region 7 Regionals April 6-9 at the Prince George’s Sports Complex in Landover, Maryland. She had finished fourth in the all-around with a score of 36.875 in the AA Division, which surpassed the 34.0 qualifying minimum score to advance to the nationals.
There are four regions encompassing 26 states represented in Eastern Nationals. The Western Nationals also took place last weekend in Boise, Idaho.
McNamara advanced out of state competition March 25-26 in Hamilton with a ninth-place score of 36.325 in the all-around. She was third in the balance beam (9.35) and fifth in the floor exercise (9.30).
“It was really exciting [in nationals]. I was nervous and really proud of myself,” said McNamara, who is one of three national qualifiers in her level out of Action Gymnastics in Howell.
McNamara also hit a score of 9.40 in the floor exercise for second place, 9.07 in the uneven bars for fifth place and 8.95 in the balance beam for seventh place.
McNamara started in gymnastics from early childhood in the “Mommy and Me” program that bonds mothers and young children. She had an added incentive for the national meet when her maternal grandfather, Louis Ploskonka, who had been a big supporter of the young gymnast, died a week earlier at the age of 77 from cancer. McNamara’s mother, Susan, in a nostalgic tribute to her father’s memory, continued to send text messages to her father’s phone about how his granddaughter was doing in the nationals.
“It pushed me a lot. I did it for him,” Brooke McNamara said.
McNamara finished just out of a medal with a 10th-place score of 9.1 in the balance beam.
She had a “malfunction” on a connection in her bars routine and then injured her ankles on the final floor exercise event when she slipped on the surface, which she said happened to a number of other competitors as well.
She remained proud of her effort in the vault, which is her favorite event, along with the floor exercise.
“I’m really proud of her. She worked so hard and overcame a lot of struggles,” Susan McNamara said.
The younger McNamara competed for years with Galaxy Gymnastics in Freehold but missed region competition last year with an injury. She and other gymnasts switched gyms last year, and she had to adjust to her new coaches.
McNamara made the adjustment smoothly — saying that she is happy with her move to Action Gymnastics — and stayed healthy.
“I was surprised I [made nationals] this year, but I got more help and worked hard, practicing six days a week,” McNamara said.
Her dedication and hard work paid off as she works this summer on making the transition to the final level, Level 10.