Tyla Armendariz, Arbor Moran, Mackenzie Hardesty each won last weekend

Ignite Gymnastics’ Arbor Moran was the state champion on uneven bars at the state competition in Aurora on Dec. 6-7. (Courtesy Liz Herring)

Ignacio’s Ignite Gymnastics showed their gymnasts can compete with any in the state as Ignite returned from Aurora last weekend with three state champions.

Tyla Armendariz, 10, Arbor Moran, 8, and Mackenzie Hardesty, 8, became the latest state champions to come out of Ignite Gymnastics after impressive performances at the Colorado USA Gymnastics Level 2, XCel Bronze and Silver State Competition on Saturday and Sunday at Colorado Gymnastics Institute in Aurora.

“We had an incredible season,” Ignite coach Liz Herring said. “So we had high hopes for state, and it panned out.”

Armendariz was the silver state champion on balance beam in the Junior A Group 4 with a 9.65 score. Armendariz has been competing in gymnastics for the last seven years, and she has been competing with Ignite for the last 1.5 years.

Ignite Gymnastics’ Tyla Armendariz was the state champion on balance beam at the state competition in Aurora on Dec. 6-7. (Courtesy Liz Herring)

It was an especially impressive state championship for Armendariz because her routine was riskier than others. There are a wide range of skills the gymnasts can do, with some skills being easier than others. Some gymnasts in the competition group do easier skills perfectly, but Armendariz did a high-level skill perfectly, according to Herring.

Moran won the silver state championship in uneven bars in the Child Group 4, scoring 9.75. Moran lives in Pagosa Springs, but began her gymnastics journey in Alaska and has been competing with Ignite for about a year.

Herring said it’s not uncommon for young gymnasts to get nervous at the state competitions, and Moran has done a great job progressing in her first two state meets before this one.

Hardesty was the silver state champion on uneven bars in Child Group 2, scoring 9.725. She shared the top step of the podium with another gymnast with the identical score.

“Mackenzie is one of our babies,” Herring said. “I’ve been coaching her since she was 2 years old. She’s very experienced in a lot of ways; it’s so weird because she is young. But this year, every meet she went to, if she knew she had messed up the turn, she never even said a word about it. She just kept smiling.”

Ignite Gymnastics’ Mackenzie Hardesty was the state champion on uneven bars at the state competition in Aurora on Dec. 6-7. (Courtesy Liz Herring)

Ignite had eight XCel Bronze gymnasts and nine XCel Silver gymnasts qualify for the state competition. The difference between the bronze level and the silver level is the skill level of the gymnasts. Bronze is the beginner competition level for gymnastics.

Herring said 17 girls is a pretty high number for how little Ignacio is, compared to the Denver teams that have up to 40 girls per level, according to Herring. The Denver gymnasts also have an advantage because they get to wake up in their own bed and drive to the meet. The Ignite gymnasts have to leave their homes two days in advance to travel up and stay in a hotel.

“I have a kind of different philosophy for our area,” Herring said. “I try to expose them to those upper-level meets, do more things with them and have them travel. So they get more experience doing those things … so when they get to gold, they’re going to start going to places; the gold regional meet last year was in Arkansas, and then the year before that, the platinum regionals were in Dallas.”

Of the 17 gymnasts who qualified, Adeline Crouch, Henley Beck, Emerson Conroy, and Evelyn Gosney also came home as medalists.

bkelly@durangoherald.com

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St. Anthony Legend Darrick Martin Hosts Annual Books & Basketball Camp

Dating back to his playing days with the Los Angeles Clippers in the late 1990’s, St. Anthony alum Darrick Martin has provided a yearly Books & Basketball Camp for kids in the Long Beach area. What was once the highlight of his offseason continues to be a staple for Martin and his family each summer, […]

Josh Nichols and Marli Salmon were involved in training and gym work at London Colney on Friday, ahead of Arsenal’s first-team match against Wolves this weekend.

Photo via Premier League on Instagram

Arsenal youth duo Josh Nichols and Marli Salmon were both at London Colney on Friday, with the two players pictured doing gym work and then Nichols also snapped taking part in the first-team training session.

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Salmon may also have featured in the training session, as the pictures aren’t comprehensive. At the very least, he was in attendance and working on his fitness.

Photo via Salmon on Instagram

The duo’s involvement is perhaps significant, as Nichols is a right-back and Salmon can play at right-back or centre-back, making his first-team debut on the right on Wednesday.

Arsenal are sweating on the fitness of Jurrien Timber, with Mikel Arteta saying his involvement “depends how he feels” during that training session on Friday. If the Dutch international is out of the Wolves match, perhaps one of Nichols and Salmon could be in line to replace him.

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But we shouldn’t draw any firm conclusions, as it would be the wise thing to do to include Nichols and Salmon even if the expectation was that Timber would be fit. If there’s even a small chance he might be unavailable, the backup plan needs to be in place in advance.

Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images

More than that, Nichols and Salmon have earned their senior training opportunities, and it’s always good to have more bodies to fill out practice matches and so on.

For a proper update on Timber’s fitness, we’ll have to wait for Saturday night’s team news.

BATTLE CREEK — With the youth Battle Creek Central is putting on the court to start this year, the Bearcats know they are going to be better later in the season than they are now.

But, on Friday, Dec. 12, the young Bearcats were plenty good enough already.

The Bearcats started two freshmen and two sophomores in the varsity game and they all looked like they belonged. Battle Creek Central defeated Mattawan 55-52 in a Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference boys high school basketball game at the BCC Fieldhouse.

Jacobs Entertainment has confirmed it will file for a permit for the demolition of the old Bonanza Inn along Fourth Street in downtown Reno. 

This is a result of Jacobs’ analysis of the renovation costs of the Inn, to better serve their permitted project, adding youth athletic fields to downtown. 

The fields are planned to be the first four in the J Resort’s “Reno Neon Line District” and will accommodate two fields for 7×7 soccer games and two fields for 9×9 games, as well as youth lacrosse. 

“These new fields are going to help continue to transform downtown Reno,” said Jonathan Boulware, vice president of Nevada operations for Jacobs Entertainment. “We’re very excited to help bring youth sports to downtown Reno.”

After Jacob analyzed the costs to renovate the Bonanza, they came to the conclusion that it was not a viable path forward, due to rising construction costs. The demolition will allow for a larger scope of construction. 

“Travel youth sports is a multi-billion-dollar industry,”  Boulware said. “The average youth sports family spends nearly $1,500 a year on hotels and tournaments. These new fields will help us capture some of that revenue here in Reno.”

The timeline for future construction is still to be determined. 

Major League Baseball brothers Zack and Jake Gelof held their third annual Youth Sports Camp at Cape Henlopen High School Nov. 26, when 85 athletes ages 8 to 13 enjoyed a full day of baseball, soccer, basketball and more. Tickets sold out in just 23 minutes.

The mission of the Gelof Brothers Foundation is to provide resources and assistance to support the overall development of youth.

Joining the Gelofs were 2025 World Series standout and Cape graduate Mason Fluharty, along with newly drafted players Luke Johnson of the Washington Nationals and Jase Mitchell of the Houston Astros.

Delaware hasn’t traditionally produced a large pool of Major League Baseball draft picks, but all five emerged from the Cape community. Each returned to help run the camp and inspire the next wave of young athletes.

“I’m blessed to have the opportunity to come out here, see the guys and help out,” said Fluharty. “It’s really fulfilling after the year I had. I get to see all my boys and family, and help with this really awesome event. It’s super fulfilling to come back to my hometown that’s been behind me and supported me all the way.”

“This means so much to come back, see old friends and bring them together for this event,” said Jake Gelof. “It’s great to see the younger generation interested in baseball, and to let them know that their dream of playing at a higher level is achievable.”

“It means a lot to come back and give back to the youth of our community,” said Johnson. “Hopefully they set goals to become better players, and who knows, they might get drafted.”

The staff’s résumés were impressive, featuring conference champions, state champions, collegiate national champions and pro scouts. Coaches volunteering at the clinic included Adam Gelof, Alia Marshall, Annie Judge, Ava Calciano, Ben Ashby, Ben Evick, Brian Fleming, Chris Calciano, Dynell Toppin, Ellis Gaulden, DJ Toppin, Josh Reinhold, Kannex Camarco, Lindsay Monigle, Mike Fleming, Rick Townsend, Trey Hitchcock, Zach Dale and Zach Savage.

“It’s awesome to be around these guys and see all the talent that’s come out of Cape,” said Mitchell. “Coach Evick has done such a great job developing these players. I’m blessed to come out of such a great program. It’s really nostalgic as I was in these youngsters’ shoes just a few years ago, so it’s wonderful helping out.”

“I love the camp,” said 9-year-old Nolan Clark. “I’m a really big baseball fan, and to possibly face Blue Jays pitcher Mason Fluharty in the knuckleball catch challenge is great. I don’t know if I’ll catch it, but I’m going to try.”

“It’s cool being here at the camp,” said 8-year-old Layton Greer. “The hitting station was my favorite.”

“It’s always fun to be part of this event each year,” said Evick. “Seeing these guys give back to their community shows the pride they carry with them. Having all five pros here this year was great, and I hope we can continue that. The kids have such a good time and leave so happy, and that’s what it’s all about.”

“Today was a great day for the community,” said Zack Gelof. “The kids, volunteers and everyone involved made this possible. Jake and I hope to keep this going every year. This camp is another reminder of how many great role models we have in this community, and hopefully that inspires kids to become the best version of themselves.”