Because of his work as a defense contractor in the Middle East, John Conway had never been able to see his daughter, Jill, a standout gymnast with the Islands YMCA, perform live in a competition.
But John Conway was there Thursday to see Jill in one of her biggest meets yet — as she competed in the 2013 YMCA Gymnastics National Championship at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center.
Jill Conway, 17, a rising senior at Effingham County High School, was on the floor in the middle of the Level 8 competition and had no idea her dad was in the building.
“I was just about to do the floor exercise when I saw him,” said Jill, who had her highest mark of the day, a 9.30, in the floor event. “I didn’t expect him to be here and I was overwhelmed. It’s the first time he’s been able to see me.”
After she finished her final event of the day — the vault — Jill jumped the chain barricade and ran over to give her dad a hug.
“It was wonderful,” John Conway said. “It’s great to be back in the States again. I’ve watched her a lot on video, but it was nothing like this.”
Jill is hoping for a top 25 finish in her events to earn a spot in Saturday’s finals. The results won’t be known until this morning as one group competes today.
Jill scored an 8.95 in the vault, a 7.5 on the uneven bars and an 8.45 on the beam. Her teammate, Lane Vacala, had an impressive showing with a 9.55 on the bars, an 8.925 on the beam, 9.375 in the floor exercise and a 9.150 in the vault.
This is the fourth national championship for Vacala, who has won all-around titles twice. The 11-year-old is headed into the seventh grade at St. Andrew’s School — and she is excited about Savannah serving as the host city for the event.
“It’s real fun having it here,” said Vacala, also competing at Level 8. “It’s almost like we have our own fan club with all the support we have. I feel really comfortable, and I’m not worried. My goal is to do the best I can, have fun with it and stay positive.”
Afterward, Vacala was all smiles as she calmly nailed a TV interview before assessing her day.
“I felt like I did pretty good,” Vacala said. “I really went for it on the floor exercise and had a lot of fun.”
Melissa Villarreal, a Savannah Country Day student, had a solid floor routine — scoring a 9.025. She said hosting the championships was a thrill for members of the Islands YMCA located on Whitemarsh Island.
“I was a little more nervous than usual because you have more family and friends that are able to come out and see you compete,” Villarreal said. “But this is great getting to meet so many new people and showing them Savannah.”
This is the first YMCA Nationals that includes competition for boys, and the Islands YMCA team fared well.
Dustyn Scoggin finished third on the vault at Level 5. His teammate Justin Walker finished third in the All Around competition and was second in the parallel bars, third on the rings and third in the floor exercise. Jake Knight took third in the pommel horse, rings and parallel bars and was fourth all-around at Level 4.
Jake Mieners, 12, had a great day — taking the Level 6 All Around title, while winning the floor exercise, rings, pommel horse and high bar.
Russ Bonham has been coaching the crew for 15 months, and his father, Steve Bonham, a former All-American gymnast at LSU, also had a hand in training the team.
“The boys did real well today,” Russ Bonham said. “They have improved tenfold since we’ve been working with them. They were pretty pumped up today, especially since we have such a huge fan base with the event in Savannah.”