Sidney Gymnast Selected to Represent Montana at Regionals

At 14 years old, Amanda Deegan has been selected to represent Montana on the state team at Regionals. Regionals, which will be held in Kent, WA April 10 through the 15, will include gymnasts from clubs in Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

Deegan, who started in gymnastics at age 2, stated that she enjoys the sport because of the difficulty and the fact that “it challenges you in everything you do.”

With the difficulty, there are different levels in gymnastics, from the beginners at level four and the most advanced being at level ten. In order to qualify for regionals, gymnasts must be at least a level eight. Deegan, being the only level eight at the Sidney Gymnastics Club, was the only gymnast able to compete for the state team. In the state of Montana, there are 21 girls at level eight. During the state meet, the girls are ranked on their performances. The top 14 girls will go to the regional meet as individuals, while just 8 of those 14 are chosen to represent Montana as a team as well.

Going in to the state meet, Deegan was ranked second in the state. According to Sidney Coach, Pat McWilliams, Deegan was doing very good and getting her highest scores of the year when she got to the beam, her favorite event. Deegan has won the beam at every meet in Montana, so they thought they had it. Unfortunately, during her round-off back handspring, Deegan missed the beam with one hand. This caused her to fall, hitting her chest and knee on the beam before falling off. In gymnastics, the only way to make a decent score in this situation, is to get back up and complete the move and the routine, starting again within 30 seconds. As Coach Pat was asking her if she could continue, one of the judges instructed she had four seconds left. Deegan simply stated, “I gotta do it.” Although her ribs were bruised and her knee was already swelling up, she did. She completed her stunt and her routine, but they thought she missed the top eight.

At the awards ceremony, they announced the state team and she was the eighth member. Deegan broke down in tears, because she wanted it so badly. Other coaches that witnessed this told Coach Pat that the amount of emotion shown had really touched them.

Deegan says her fall has not caused any problems and that if she just competes at regionals the way she knows how, she will do fine. Plenty of time has been put in to get her to this point, three hours five days a week to be exact. Deegan stated, “I just love the sport, so it just brings me to the gym everyday.”

Concerning the future, Coach Pat stated, “she’s got the kind of spirit, she can get as far as she wants to go.”