By Wendi Reardon Price
Staff Writer
wprice@mihomepaper.com
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Leah Fitzsimonds placed during 2024 Level 9 Eastern Championships, May 3-5.
Fitzsimonds, a junior at Clarkston High School, finished in sixth place in the nation on bars with a score of 9.175, and she placed eighth in the nation for all around with 36.825.
With her scores, she broke two Level 9 records at her gym, Great Lakes Elite in Oxford.
Fitzsimonds finished second place in All Around and third place in the beam at the 2024 Region 5 Level 9/10 Championships in Lexington, Kentucky to qualify for nationals, April 11-14.
She was the first gymnast from Great Lakes Elite to qualify for nationals.
“My goal this season was to make regionals,” Fitzsimonds said. “I did that so going into the meet, I didn’t put a lot of pressure on myself. I was just hoping for a solid performance to take into next season.
“The level 9 skills are really hard,” she added. “I knew how good the other gymnasts were so taking second overall and qualifying for nationals was really exciting. I’m happy to be representing Michigan, my gym, and my team at nationals. I’m grateful to my coaches for helping me every step of the way especially those times when I struggled. They’ve always been there to encourage me and it feels great to share this accomplishment with them.”
Fitzsimonds has been doing gymnastics since she was five-years-old. She began doing it competitively when she was in third grade.