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Prince George’s Alia Wilson hits new career-high at first Artistic Gymnastics Nationals

She’s also the first local athlete to appear at the tournament in nearly two decades

No medals were put around the neck of a Prince George gymnast in Ottawa this week, but the experience was worth much more than a piece of hardware.

Alia Wilson represented Team B.C. at the 2019 Artistic Canadian Championships competing against some of Canada’s top female gymnasts in the Junior Olympic 10 (J.O. 10) division.

The 16-year-old wheeled in a new personal best score in floor exercise, completing a career-high 9.150 while also making history as the first Prince George gymnast in 17 years to represent the local club at Nationals.

“We are so proud of Alia,” her coach Jenn Schwandt said in a message to PrinceGeorgeMatters. “Her hard work and dedication has paid off. She hit another personal best with a beautiful floor routine. Good job Alia, you make Prince George Gymnastics so proud!”

Overall, Wilson finished 36th in her first-ever national appearance with a combined score of 34.774, nearly three-and-a-half points behind first place.

On the vault, Wilson managed to crack the top 25 with a 9.233; her teammate Emilie Hong took the gold medal in that category.

She finished as follows in the remaining challenges:

  • 33rd = Uneven bars (8.275), 1.262 points back of first
  • 38th = Balance beam (8.116), 1.3 points back of first

The overall individual winner in Wilson’s category and age group was Dahlia Solorzano-Caruso of Ontario (38.224).

She was one of six young women from our province at the championships in J.O. 10 (16+), with B.C. finishing in sixth place during the team competition at Carleton University.

J.O. 10 is the top level of artistic difficulty in all of gymnastics.

This weekend, Prince George is sending its Gymnaestrada squad to the B.C. Championships in Victoria, which is a recreational and contemporary form of gymnastics combining skills, dance, and movement.