Submitted photos – Maya Dalton

A busy spring season recently concluded for the Redwood Coast Gymnastics team with some standout performances at a pair of April tournaments.

The local club traveled to compete at two different regional championships during the month, including the Level 6 Regional Championships in Petaluma two weeks ago and the four-day 2026 Xcel Gold Regional Championships in Park City, Utah, last week.

The USA Gymnastics Region 1 includes young gymnasts from California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona.

Momo Baxter was the team’s lone representative in Petaluma and turned in a strong performance in her season finale.

The 12-year-old’s strongest event is the vault and she placed fourth at the regional tournament with a score of 9.375.

The following weekend four Redwood Coast gymnasts made the trip to Utah, a group that included Maya Dalton, Hannah Naylor, Myiah Punch and Addie Bellerman.

Their teammate Kaile’a Townsend also earned a qualifying score for the regional championships, but was unable to attend.

With strong tumbling and dynamic dance, Dalton brought home the silver medal on floor, earning second place in her age division with a score of 9.45. 

The nine-year-old also had a personal best on bars with a score of 8.9 and medalled on vault, pacing eighth with a score of 8.85.

Naylor, meanwhile, delivered a strong performance on floor exercise, scoring 9.3 to place fifth. 

The 11-year-old added a personal best score of 9.2 on bars.

Punch, 13, recorded Redwood Coast’s top bar score of the meet with a 9.45, placing sixth in her division. 

She also led the team in the all around (36.325), as well as on balance beam, medalling in eighth place with a 9.1.  

Hannah Naylor and Addie Bellerman

Myiah Punch

Bellerman, 11, highlighted her meet with a 9.1 on floor exercise.

In recent years, Redwood Coast Gymnastics has primarily competed in the USA Gymnastics Developmental Program, which progresses from Levels 2 through 10 and into the elite ranks seen in international competition. 

Lower levels (2-5) follow compulsory routines, while Levels 6 and above allow athletes to perform customized routines that meet specific skill requirements. 

This season, however, the club introduced the lower-level athletes to the USAG Xcel Program, which allows individualized routines tailored to each gymnast’s strengths. 

The shift gave athletes opportunities to explore new skills and to face new challenges, like the Regional Championships, which otherwise are unavailable to gymnasts until reaching level 6. 

Team head coach Brian Van Pelt praised the team’s effort during the transition.  

“2026 represented a new experience for the athletes, coaches, and parents, and I am very grateful for the support that the team received from the parents and families as we worked through this experiment,” he said. “The coaches find themselves uplifted and impressed with how hard the girls worked under this new system, and we are all very pleased with the results that our athletes were able to garner.”