Gymnast Bushard begins preparations for national meet

The Big Sky Gymnastics boys team capped off a very impressive season last weekend at the regional gymnastics meet in Boise, Idaho.

Five boys made the trip with Brandon Bushard qualifying for the national meet in San Diego at the end of the month. Brandon Bushard placed seventh all around out of 26 competitors with a score of 45.2.

Brandon Bushard, who competes in the level two class, won the high bar event with a score of 8.15 and earned two sixth-place finishes. He took sixth on the parallel bars with a 7.7 and on the rings with a 7.7. Brandon Bushard also finished 12th on the floor exercise with an 8.05 and 12th on the vault with a 7.55. He added a 13th-place finish on the pomel horse with a score of 6.05.

Brandon's brother, Stephan, placed 16th all-around with a 42.4 score. Stephan Bushard, who competes in class three, also placed fourth in the high bar with an 8.65 score and 13th in floor exercise with an 8.1. His other scores were a 7.45 on the rings, a 7.3 on the vault, a 6.55 on the parallel bars and a 4.35 on the pommel horse.

Jess Hannon, competing in class five, placed 20th all around with a 44.05. Hannon placed eighth on the parallel bars with a 7.6 score. He added an 11th-place finish in the vault with an 8.9 and a 14th-place finish in the floor exercise with a 7.8. Hannon's other scores were a 7.75 on the high bar, 7.05 on the rings and a 4.95 on the pommel horse.

Carson Pollington competed in one of the larger age groups at the meet, placing 44th all-around out of around 100 kids. His all-around score for the class six, ages 7-9, was 47.40. Pollington placed 23rd on the vault with an 8.95 score and 33rd on the rings with an 8.65. His other scores were a 7.25 on the floor exercise, 7.1 on the pommel horse, a 7.35 on the parallel bars, and an 8.1 on the high bar.

Tyson Gruber also competed in the class six group but in the 10-11 age group. Gruber placed 42nd all-around with a 47.85 score. He placed 19th on the vault with an 8.95, 28th on the floor exercise with a 7.95, and 38th on the rings with an 8.55. Gruber added a 6.65 score on the pommel horse, a 7.4 on the parallel bars, and an 8.35 on the high bar.