Shrewsbury – Sydney Malko and Lianne Josbacher, Level 10 gymnasts who train at Gymnastics Learning Center in Shrewsbury, will be heading to Jackson, Miss. this month for the Junior Olympic National Championships.
This competition, which will be held from May 9 – 11, is the culmination of a season of challenging meets, which took the girls as far as Chicago and San Diego. To earn a place on the Regional Team representing the six New England states and New York, a gymnast must place in the top seven at Regionals.? Only 56 girls in each age group from across the country qualify to compete at the prestigious national competition.
Malko, a sophomore at Shrewsbury High School, is this year's State Floor Champion. At the Regional Meet held recently in Springfield, Mass. she placed third on beam, fourth on floor and second all-around earning her a place on the Junior C Team at Nationals. This is her third year as a Level 10 gymnast and her second trip to Nationals.
Josbacher, a Shrewsbury resident who is a senior at K12 International Academy, placed second on all events at States, earning her a second place finish in all-around. She won first place in all her events and earned first place in all-around, scoring a personal best of 38.225, at Regionals in the Senior D age group.
Josbacher has been a Level 10 gymnast for six years and this will be her sixth trip to Nationals. She has earned a full scholarship for gymnastics next year at Boise State University in Idaho.
Nikki and Robert McElroy, who have produced numerous State and Regional champions for the Gymnastics Learning Center, coach both girls.