OXFORD — After a season of sharpening up rusty skills, Woodland gymnast Kristina Poynton is reaping the benefits of her hard work.
Poynton won the vault in the final regular-season meet of her career Feb. 18 at Kinetic Kids in Oxford and qualified for both the State Open and the National High School Gymnastics Association Senior Showcase Invitational.
Poynton, who also celebrated her senior day in the meet with athletes from Pomperaug, Oxford, Nonnewaug and Newtown, earned the top score in vault with a 9.1. That score boosted her State Open qualifying average on that apparatus to 8.525, which placed her among the top 40 gymnasts in the state and earned her a spot in Saturday’s State Open at New Milford High.
“I think I’ve improved a lot throughout the season, especially on vault and floor, because I made my routines a little bit more difficult,” Poynton said.
Although Poynton will only compete in the vault at the State Open, she will compete on all four apparatuses as part of the all-around competition for the NHSGA Senior Showcase Invitational on May 17-18 in Fort Myers Beach, Fla.
Poynton plans on attending Sacred Heart University and competing with the school’s club gymnastics team. Her senior day ceremony gave her the opportunity to look back on her long career training at Kinetic Kids with coach Hal Rettstadt and her teammates.
“It was definitely really sad for me because I’m leaving the gym which has been my second home for many years and I’ll be leaving all of my close friends that I’ve grown up with doing gymnastics,” Poynton said. “But it also made me really excited because I know that everyone at the gym will be supporting me when I go off to college.”
