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Retterer, Parlett shine at NorCal youth gymnastics state meet

Committing to and learning a sport at a young age can pay major dividends toward the future success of a talented athlete who has the desire and determination it takes to be an individual or team champion.

For certain sports, a youthful start has become imperative if an athlete wants hers or his performance or play to reach a high plateau of achievment.

In the world of competitive gymnastics, it’s the youth movement which is the driving force, and the recent accomplishments of two young Valley gymnasts have given them an encouraging lift up that long and challenging ladder to the higher reaches of success in the sport.

As members of the Petaluma-based Redwood Empire Gymnastics’ girls’ team, Sonoma’s 9-year-old Molly Retterer and 7-year-old Ashlyn Parlett shined in the four gymnastic disciplines at last month’s 2012 NorCal Level 4 North State championships at the Oroville Gymnastics Sports Academy in Oroville.

Retterer, a student at Prestwood School, competed in the Women/4/Junior-E Division and earned a first place on the beam, a second on the bars, a tied-second in the floor exercises, and a fifth on the vault en route to claiming the impressive all-around title with a cumulative score of 37.175.

Competing in the Women/4/Child-C Division, Parlett, a student at Presentation School, also captured a standout all-around title with a cumulative score of 36.900 after finishing in first-place on the vault, bars and floor exercises, and 10th on the beam.

Since winning their Level 4 North State all-around titles, Retterer and Parlett, who are coached at the Redwood Empire Gymnastics by Tara Lantti and Maureen Koehler, have moved into the more demanding level-5 and are developing new skills for the next competition season with three-hour workouts four days a week.