3 local gymnasts representing East Bay Gymnastics help Region I team to championship in Iowa
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — Jillian Arangorin and Sienna Blake of Concord and Clayton’s Aaliyah Campos of East Bay Gymnastics were on the Region 1 team that won the 2021 USA Gymnastics Development Program Level 9 Western Championships Super Team title last month in Coralville, Iowa.
At 10-years-old, Campos was the youngest competitor in the meet, the 2021 finale for Level 9 women. Blake, 15, was sixth all-around, fourth on the beam and seventh on bars. Their East Bay teammate Sofia Mederios placed in four events.
Two high school juniors representing East Bay Gymnastics, Casey Brown and Claire Dean, were on the Level 10 Region 1 team and their performances sparked strong interest from Pac-12 college programs.
Brown, 16 years-old, was fourth on the vault and bars, sixth on beam and third all-around. That performance earned her a spot on the USA Gymnastics Developmental Program’s National team and she will attend DP National Team Camp in Indianapolis next month.
Her East Bay coach Lisa Terry said, “Casey was offered a full-scholarship and has verbally committed to Cal Berkeley.” The Golden Bears finished in third place at the NCAA Championship semifinals, just .075 behind top-ranked Florida for the final spot in the finale.
Dean, a 17-year-old, was second on bars, fourth on beam and 10th all-around. She performed a very difficult new skill on the balance beam (switch leap with a half-turn land in scale) and it was named after her. Terry says, “It will be now and forever be an ‘E’ skill known as ‘The DEAN’ in the USAG Code of Points.” Although Claire is currently uncommitted, she has several offers from Pac-12 schools.” Click here to see a video clip of ‘The Dean.’
Region 1 competitors were selected from California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah gymnasts. In all, 24 states competed in the meet.
Nationals qualifying
East Bay Gymnastics qualified all six of its elite team members for the Iowa finale with top performances at the United State Artistic Gymnastics Region 1 Championships in Arizona during April.
Team members Campos, Aarogorin, Mederios, Blake, Brown and Dean scored high enough at the Regionals in Chandler, AZ to earn sports at Nationals
Terry said, “Their performances drew a lot of attention with Division 1 college scouts and the verbal commitment of D1 scholarship offers for the older athletes.”
Dean won all-around and floor exercise at the Regional Championships with the highest score of the Level 10 Division of 38.875.
Terry added, “With huge obstacles looming, training outside in the cold, shortened training hours, and training and competing in masks, these girls persevered and were able to compete.”
Jay Bedecarré
Jay Bedecarré is a long-time resident and writer in Concord and Clayton. He began his newspaper writing career while still a senior at Mt. Diablo High School and he has been part of The Pioneer since its inception in 2003. Jay also operates Bay Area Festivals, presenting events around the San Francisco Bay Area including Bay Area KidFest annually in Downtown Concord.