RENO >> Catch Berton-Devore of Skycatch Gymnastics of Lakeport just missed out on winning the all-around Level 6 title last weekend during the 2017 Men’s Region 1 Gymnastics Championships in Reno.
Berton-Devore, 14, of Lakeport and Tanner Broyles, 13, of Kelseyville, both competing in the 14-18 age division, combined to win multiple medals in a region considered one of the toughest in the country, according to Skycatch coach Roger Devore, who said he couldn’t be any happier with the performances turned in by his two rising stars.
“They exceeded all my expectations,” Devore said. “They showed up to put up. They went above and beyond anything I could have asked for.”
Region 1 encompasses Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada and California although California is divided into two separate states – Northern California and Southern California — for the purposes of this event.
“There’s quite a rivalry between the two,” Devore said.
Apart from competing in the individual events and for the all-around championship in Level 6, Berton-Devore also participated on the NorCal All-Star team that placed second behind Nevada in the final standings.
“NorCal did absolutely fantastic,” said Tanner Broyles’ mom Annette Schreiber Broyles of Skycatch Gymnastics. “These boys are at the top of their game.”
Berton-Devore won individual firsts in three events — floor exercise, vault and high bar — and a second-place medal in the pommel horse. He also finished 11th in rings and 16th in parallel bars. He missed the all-around championship by a mere three-tenths of a point.
Teammate Broyles secured a fourth-place medal in the vault and just missed out on medals in the pommel horse (tied for sixth), the high bar (seventh) and and the parallel bars (tied for seventh). He also finished 11th in the floor exercise and ninth in the all-around.
Broyles’ score of 8.65 in the high bar was a personal best.
Both Berton-Devore and Broyles were mostly pleased with their weekend in Reno.
“The best part of it for myself was I hit my peak on the vault,” said Berton-Devore, who said his only regret was his performance in the parallel bars.
Broyles, participating for the first time in a competition of this magnitude, said he managed to maintain his cool throughout.
“It felt like a regular meet and it felt fun,” said Broyles, who was excited by his fourth-place finish in the vault and his personal-best score in the high bar.
“I like the vault a lot,” Broyles said. “In the high bar I put in my giants and stuck my landing.”
Giants is a gymnastics move that increases rotational speed on such events as the high bar.
“Tanner was calm and poised,” Skycatch coach Devore said.
Devore also had high praise for his son, Berton-Devore, who bounced back from a “bobble” in the parallel bars to win the high bar.
“They are both in the top fifth of the five states that make up Region 1,” Devore said. “I couldn’t be a prouder coach. It’s the most excitement I’ve had yet as a coach because these guys keep surprising me and I attribute it all to the hard work put in by both kids.”
