Submitted photos – Lily Golightly

McKinleyville’s Lily Golightly is setting a high standard for local gymnastics.

Last weekend, Golightly and two of her Redwood Coast Gymnastics Team teammates traveled to Roseville to compete in the level 6-10 State Gymnastics Championships.

Competing against the best level-9 gymnasts in all of Northern California, Golightly took home a gold medal in her favorite event, the balance beam, scoring an impressive 9.20 on her way to the victory.

She also won a bronze medal in the all-around competition, scoring a career-best 36.225.

According to her coach, Brian Van Pelt, the 17-year Golightly is Humboldt County’s highest placing and highest level gymnast in the past 30 years.

Van Pelt described level 9 as “very high level of gymnastics.”

Two other Redwood Coast gymnasts also made the trip to the big tournament.

Eureka’s Eva Cox competed in the level 7 competition, while Eureka’s Rose Harper competed in level 6.

The 16-year-old Cox placed fifth in the floor exercise with a score of 9.325 and finished sixth overall in the all-around competition.

Cox scored her second-highest level-7 points total ever in the all-around (36.05).

Harper, meanwhile, “had a very good meet, turning in strong performances on most events,” according to her coach.

The 15-year-old’s best performance came in the  bars, where she took home silver medal with a score of 9.075.

Rose Harper

Harper also placed fourth in the floor competition with a score of 9.15 and seventh in the all-around competition with a score of 35.925.

All three girls performed well enough to qualify for the Regional Championships later in the year.

“Overall, the coaches were exceptionally pleased with how these athletes performed,” Van Pelt said. “They were able to maintain their focus and display their best skills for the judges in Roseville.”

According to their coach, these athletes train eight to 12 hours per week (at Flips for Kids in Eureka) and are very dedicated to their sport.

Rina Kondo and Hannah Graves are assistant coaches with the club.

Eva Cox