New Lebanon Girl Flies High In The Gym
Contributed by April Doslop-Land
Autumn Doslop-Land, a 5th grader at Walter B. Howard Elementary School, has practiced gymnastics at World Class Gymnastics Academy in Latham, NY since she was 3 years old. “Practicing gymnastics for 8 years has allowed me to compete in four of the five USA Gymnastics Xcel Levels. First I was an Xcel Bronze gymnast, then I competed as Xcel Gold, then Xcel Silver, and now I am an Xcel Platinum gymnast. I hope to become a Diamond Level Xcel gymnast one day.” As a WCGA Xcel Platinum Team gymnast, Autumn competes in four events, the uneven bars, beam, floor, and vault. Several times a year, Autumn competes with other gymnasts from all over the United States.
Held at Siena College in December 2018, the World Class Invitational (WCI) was Autumn’s first meet of the 2018-19 competition season. At the WCI meet, Autumn took home the 3rd place medal for vault and the 4th place medal for floor. Her team, WCGA Xcel Platinum, took home the 1st place trophy.
During the 2019 Manhattan Classic gymnastics meet, Autumn was excited to have achieved her highest score yet on floor, earning her personal best score of 9.500, which tied her for 2nd place in this event. Autumn tied for 4th place on vault and received the 4th place all-around trophy with a score of 36.150.
On February 9, Autumn had the opportunity to compete in the 2019 Chicago Style Classic meet. During the meet, Autumn took home the 3rd place medal for floor and the 4th place medal for beam. Her team won 3rd place.
On Sunday, February 24, Autumn traveled to Shrewsbury, MA to compete in the 2019 Hawaiian Luau Invitational. There she placed 5th all-around and 2nd on floor and 6th on vault. She has already qualified for the New York USA Gymnastics States competition and hopes to do well during the state meet so that she may qualify for regionals. “I love gymnastics because my coaches and teammates help me with new skills and it is fun!”