Kayla Folz takes 2 gold at national gymnastics event

A pair of gold-medal performances at the 2015 Eastern Canadian Gymnastics Championships provided a great deal of excitement for local gymnast Kayla Folz. Yet they were not the highlight of the meet.

"Personally, I thought my biggest accomplishment was actually scoring my 11.00 on bars," said the St. Charles College student of the apparatus that actually produced her lowest ranking in the group of 18 athletes representing Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and New Brunswick.

"I've had so much trouble with it all year, I haven't hit a clean bar routine," Folz said. "My highest score before had been a 9.80."

Her comfort level is currently with both the vault and the floor, finishing first in both events in Moncton.

Folz scored 13.85 on the vault, nicely ahead of both Amaryllis Martel (Quebec) and Chelsea Wilson (New Brunswick), both posting scores of 13.50. The floor routine featured a closer push for Folz, this one coming from Ontario teammate Megen Reid.

Folz (13.20) and Reid (13.10) led the way for a provincial sweep of the podium, with Alexzandra Throndson well within striking distance at 13.05. The double gold-medal performance allowed Folz to slide into fourth place in the overall aggregate standings, as she looks forward to a three-month stretch of training, free of the stress of competition.

"As much as I love competing, I really love having that break, because during that break, it's almost all new skill time," said Folz. "I love having the chance to work on new skills, because then I have a bunch of new things to include in each event.

"It's really nice to go out there with big, new routines."

With her first year of national-level competition behind her, Folz is targeting a placement at the 2016 provincials that would qualify her to bypass the Eastern Championships in favour of the Canadian Gymnastics Championships.

"Reaching the national level has motivated me so much, made me feel that I can go farther," she said. "Even this year, I've improved so much more than I expected."