Trio from Ultimate Gymnastics compete in regionals

By: Paul Schofield
Saturday, April 9, 2022 | 8:01 AM

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Three girls from Ultimate Gymnastics in Delmont were scheduled to compete in the USA Gymnastics Region 7 championship at Virginia Beach on April 8-10.

All three were set to compete in the USAG Level 8 all-around competition. They qualified by scoring 35 points at the Pennsylvania Championship at State College.

They are Lower Burrell’s Isabella Distilo, Plum’s Sarah Kvortek and Mt. Pleasant’s Olivia Kovach.

The trio will be competing on the vault, beam, bars and floor.

Distilo, 12, was a state champion in the floor exercise with a 9.3 score.

“Isabella was excellent on the floor,” Ultimate Gymnastic coach Renee Ruggeri said. “That is her best event. She had no idea she was winning, but I knew the scores. She was surprised that she won. I wasn’t.

“I knew she was capable winning. She definitely is focused.”

The three girls will be competing against others from Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware and New Jersey.

Ruggeri said she also has high hopes for Kvortek, 17, and Kovach, 13.

“I believe all three are capable of winning,” Ruggeri said. “They all do things well. It’s an honor to be able to compete in the regional tournament.”

Kvortek, a sophomore, is a two-time WPIAL champion who won the Pa. Classic in late February.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.