Poole vaults to the top

Date: 5/22/2014

WILBRAHAM – Competing against the best gymnasts in the Northeast, Wilbraham & Monson Academy’s Lauren Poole ’17 won the vault competition with a score of 9.2 at the Level 8 competition at the U.S. Gymnastics Region 6 Regional in Woburn April 27.

“I was thinking I could win but my coach told me not to think about it,” said Poole, who also claimed the Connecticut state vault title in March.

Level 8 is the first division in which gymnasts can compete at the regional competition.

“As soon as I landed, I stuck it and I was so happy,” Poole said. “My whole team went crazy because I was the last one to vault. It was an amazing feeling. Words can’t describe this. All the hard work, doing all the vaults in the gym and being the regional vault champion makes everything worth it.”

Poole also placed second in the floor exercise, where she scored a 9.475 and missed first place by .025. She hopes to qualify for the national competition next year when she moves up to Level 9.