WHITE MILLS — This past weekend, Simone Biles locked up her third trip to the Olympic Games with a scintillating performance at the U.S. Gymnastic Trials in Minneapolis.
At 27, Biles is now one of the oldest gymnasts ever to qualify for Team USA. She'll join Jordan Chiles, Sunisa Lee, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.
Meanwhile, more than 1,100 miles away, a group of talented young athletes is following in Biles' footsteps after completing a stellar season of their own.
Balance Gymnastics, which is located in White Mills, closed out its 2023-24 campaign with a pair of stellar efforts at two prestigious year-end events.
“I am beyond proud of all our girls,” Balance founder Katie Firmstone said. “They worked so hard this year and improved at each and every meet, culminating with their outstanding performances at states and regionals.”
More: Iliana Grosso of Balance Gymnastics records a perfect 10 at illustrious meet
Also by Kevin Edwards: Wayne County Wanderings: Katie Firmstone realizes a lifelong dream at Balance Gymnastics
Setting the stage
Owning and operating a gymnastics studio was Firmstone's dream for as long as she can remember.
A standout gymnast in high school and college, Firmstone made that dream a reality in 2015 when she opened Balance Gymnastics and Wellness Center in Honesdale.
The concept was well-received as scores of eager young students streamed through the doors. So many in fact that it wasn't long before Balance had outgrown its original space.
So in 2017, Balance relocated to a much larger facility at the Sports Factory in White Mills. Firmstone and her staff remained there for the next five years before upgrading once again.
This time, the move appears to be a permanent one as Firmstone purchased the former Epsco building just two miles away. The new state-of-the-art gym boasts more than 10,000 square feet of space dedicated to every aspect of the sport.
Not surprisingly, the momentum continued and Balance has attracted many more students. There are currently about 580 girls and boys from pre-school to high school and beyond.
“This whole thing started out as a dream for me and now it’s a dream come true,” Firmstone said
“We’ve tried to create a positive environment that builds kids up. We really want to empower them and let them know that they can do anything they set their mind to.”
On the podium
Julia Firmstone and Ashley Atcavage are two of the top instructors at Balance.
Firmstone graduated from Honesdale High School in 2018, then continued her academic career at Lackawanna College, the University of Pittsburgh and Florida Atlantic. She started out as a gymnast when she was just 4.
Atcavage is a 2017 graduate of Honesdale who went on to study at Franklin & Marshall, Temple and Weidner. She got her start in gymnastics at the age of 2 as part of the Mommy & Me program.
Firmstone and Atcavage oversaw the Balance teams at their two biggest events of the year. The state championships were held in Exton and Bethlehem in late April and early May, while the regional competitions took place in Lewisburg May 17-19.
The local gymnasts battled for medals in vault, bars, beam and floor exercise. There were more than 100 competitors in each level at states, while regionals attracted thousands from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia.
Roxanna Reece, Alyssa Hankins and Keira Murray led the way individually.
Reece and Hankins both took first place in the floor exercise at the Platinum level. Each received a dazzling score of 9.9.
Murray turned in one of the most impressive efforts of the entire state tourney. After finishing completely out of the running last year, she came back this year to earn silver in the All-Around with a score of 37.275.
“I'm so proud of all our girls,” Julia said. “They've worked really hard and improved at every event. It was great to see them peaking at the perfect time.”
Atcavage concurs.
“I love seeing how their confidence just grows and grows,” Ashley said. “And it's not just their abilities. They're also having so much fun and making lots of new friends. The energy at these meets is so positive. It's a pretty awesome experience.”
The future looks bright
Katie Firmstone is ecstatic about how well her students performed and is genuinely excited to see what the future holds for them.
“This is a wonderful group of girls,” she said. “They're strong, smart, powerful and kind. They support each other in every way, with our older girls being amazing role models for the younger girls. We are blessed to have them as as part of our Balance Family.”
Firmstone is also extremely grateful for all the hard work her dedicated staff puts in year-round.
“These young ladies are top notch,” she said. “They pour so much love and support into the program and it shows. Our coaches not only teach the girls great gymnastics, they also empower them to believe in themselves, which is priceless.”
This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Local gymnasts bring home the hardware from prestigious meets
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