Midwest gymnasts keep emotions in check while winning major meets

ST. JOHN | There's no crying in baseball. That's a given.

But "there's no crying in gymnastics?" If that's the case, then Judy Redmond has her work cut out for her.

"No doubt, it's an emotional sport," said Redmond, Midwest Training and Ice Center's general manager, who overlooks the center's artistic gymnastics program.

"It can be heart-breaking for the athletes as well as their parents," Redmond said. "But if you need to cry, do it on the way home. At a meet, you've got to stay focused. If not, you'll let one event ruin the other three."

At the Circle of Stars meet held Jan. 20-22 in Indianapolis, there was a teachable moment for Redmond and Crown Point 7-year-old Meredith Donovan.

Meredith, who is having an outstanding first year of competitive gymnastics and was coming off a Level 3 first-place all-around showing at the National Judges Cup in Indianapolis two weekends before, got herself in a little trouble on the balance beam.

"I knew if I bent my knee that I was going to get a deduction," Meredith said of when she tried to make the best of an awkward situation. "But if I didn't do that, I would have gotten a worse deduction.

"I wasn't happy."

To say the least.

"She was a little misty eyed," Redmond said. "But I told her of (2008 Olympic gold medalist) Shawn Johnson falling yet still winning a championship. You have to continue to do your best, and you never know what will happen."

Meredith ended up winning the balance beam with a score of 9.45. She was also the 7-year-old all-around champion (37.3).

With fellow Midwest Level 3 gymnasts also winning all-around titles in their age groups -- Gabrielle Lilovich (6-year-old, 35.4), Hope Walkowiac (8-year-old, 37.6) and Faith Kietzman (9-10-year-old, 37.9) -- Midwest swept team honors in all Level 3 age groups.

"That was pretty impressive," Redmond said of the team's overall performance at a meet that attracted 3,000 competitors from across the country. "What they did doesn't happen often. We even beat (Circle of Stars host) Dubois, which was huge."

At the National Judges Cup, it was Midwest's Level 4 team that took a bow as it won the overall team title by two points.

"And two points is a lot in gymnastics," Redmond said of the scoring system that tabulates the top four all-around scores from each team.

Leading the way for Midwest was Eleni Kostouros, who was the 9-year-old Level 4 overall champion with an all-around score of 35.97.

"I was so happy to finally win (an all-around title)," said Eleni, whose twin sister, Ekaterini, won an all-around title at an earlier meet.

"There's a little friendly competition going on between the two," said Frank Kostouros, father of Eleni and Ekaterini. "So I was glad Eleni was able to win one, too."

At the National Judges Cup, Midwest's Level 3 team tied for first place.