Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) held its WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Gymnastics Individual Championships at Moon High School this past Saturday. A total of 99 student-athletes competed across the three divisions (Advanced, Intermediate I, Intermediate II), with the day breaking up in two different sessions.
 
Mt. Pleasant’s Olivia Kovach won the WPIAL all-around championship in the Advanced division, which made the Vikings the 16th different school to produce an all-around winner at the highest level. Mt. Pleasant is the first new school to have an all-around title since Central Valley did so with Carolyn Grimm in 2021.
 
ADVANCED DIVISION RECAP
Olivia Kovach of Mt. Pleasant improved one spot from her 2024 runner-up finish, claiming the WPIAL all-around gold in the Advanced division with a total of 38.200. She topped three-time reigning champion Abby Rexrode of Baldwin by 0.300 points.
 
Kovach brought home gold in the balance beam (9.800) – winning the event for the second straight year – and a silver in the uneven bars (9.300). She added a fifth-place finish in the vault (9.650) and sixth-place effort in the floor exercise (9.450).
 
Rexrode recorded a score of 9.400 in the uneven bars to win gold in the event, which – including all-around titles – was her 10th WPIAL gold medal at the advanced division. She also claimed a pair of silvers in the vault (9.750) and balance beam (9.200), and a bronze in the floor exercise (9.550).
 
Montour’s Eliana Knause won the vault with a score of 9.775 and took home the all-around bronze with 37.475 points. Knause also earned silver in the floor exercise (9.650), and added fourth-place finishes in the uneven bars (9.250) and balance beam (8.800).
 
North Allegheny’s Sarah Patterson took gold in the floor exercise with a score of 9.700 points.
 
The remainder of the six-person all-around podium was made up of fourth-place Andie Ehalt of Freeport (36.800), fifth-place Patterson (36.650), and sixth-place Hannah Seidl of North Allegheny (36.375).
 
There was a total of 16 competitors in the Advanced division from 11 different schools (Baldwin, Central Valley, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Hampton, Montour, Mt. Pleasant, North Allegheny, Norwin, Oakland Catholic, South Side).
 
INTERMEDIATE I DIVISION RECAP
Thomas Jefferson’s Riley Barna was the gold medalist in the all-around for the Intermediate I division, posting a score of 36.050. Central Valley’s Elise Nalli placed second with a mark of 35.825, and Hempfield Area’s Ava Hickman claimed bronze with a score of 35.425.
 
Barna won the vault with a tally of 9.400, and finished second in the uneven bars (9.000) and balance beam (8.900). She tied for 15th in the floor exercise (8.750).
 
Nalli’s best finish was second in the floor exercise (9.400), and she added a fourth-place effort in the balance beam (8.875). Hickman had a trio of sixth-place finishes in the uneven bars (8.500), balance beam (8.725), and floor exercise (9.200).
 
North Catholic’s Abby Getch won the uneven bars and balance beam with the same 9.100 score. Thomas Jefferson’s Cam Noderer took gold in the floor exercise with a tally of 9.450.
 
There was a total of 35 competitors in the Intermediate I division from 17 different schools (Baldwin, Beaver, Bethel Park, Central Valley, Fox Chapel, Frazier, Freeport, Greensburg Salem, Hempfield Area, Lincoln Park, Moon, North Allegheny, North Catholic, North Hills, Saint Joseph, Thomas Jefferson, West Allegheny).
 
INTERMEDIATE II DIVISION RECAP
Kiski Area’s Ellie Arnold captured all-around gold for the Intermediate II division, recording a score of 34.000. Freeport’s Allie Turk took silver with a tally of 33.550, and Burrell’s Kendel Fenner brought home bronze with a score of 33.250.
 
Arnold won the vault with a mark of 9.150, and added a second-place finish in the balance beam (8.800). She also finished ninth in the uneven bars (7.900) and 25th in the floor exercise (8.150).
 
Turk’s best finish was a second-place effort in the uneven bars (8.150), followed by a fourth-place position in the balance beam (8.600). Fenner finished fourth in the uneven bars (8.050) and seventh in the balance beam (8.250).
 
Chartiers Valley’s Brooke Bittner won the uneven bars with a score of 8.400. In the balance beam, Beaver’s Rylie Teapole posted the best score at 9.050, and Central Valley’s Jenna Zurynski recorded an 8.850 in the floor exercise to lead the division.
 
There was a total of 48 competitors in the Intermediate II division from 27 different schools (Baldwin, Beaver, Bethel Park, Blackhawk, Burrell, Canon-McMillan, Central Valley, Chartiers Valley, Ellwood City, Franklin Regional, Frazier, Freeport, Greensburg Salem, Hempfield Area, Hopewell, Kiski Area, Montour, Moon, North Allegheny, North Hills, Norwin, Pine-Richland, South Fayette, Thomas Jefferson, Upper St. Clair, Valley, West Allegheny).
 
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