Editor’s note: This is part 2 in a three-part series, as the Waynesboro Area High School celebrates gymnastics’ 50th anniversary; article 1 can be read here.
WAYNESBORO – In 1992, Bill Clinton became President of the United States. The Dallas Cowboys won the Super Bowl. The Toronto Blue Jays were crowned World Series champions. The Barcelona Olympics were held, featuring the U.S. “Dream Team: in basketball. The first-ever text message was sent.
And Amy Dennis, a year after graduating from high school, where she coached with head coach A.J. Gehr, became the fourth head coach of the Waynesboro Area Senior High School gymnastics program. She’s been there ever since.
Dennis’ run of 34 years is astounding. And it hasn’t been lost on her. Before she was a coach, she was a gymnast on that same high school team.
“I’m thrilled to have been a part of a sport and a program that has been through so much change over the years,” she said. “Gymnastics as a sport is incredibly different today than it was at the beginning of our high school program, yet at the core, it remains very much the same. While the members of the early teams at WASHS might not recognize our scoring rules today, they can relate to setting up the equipment for each practice, the bus/van rides, and the friends they made
“It’s incredibly satisfying to see a gymnast work and work on a new skill, do it for the first time, and then continue to work to perfect it. That never gets old.”
While the sport hasn’t changed significantly over the years, the composition of the competition has. When Dennis began coaching in the early 1990s, there was a Mid-Penn Conference in gymnastics. However, that changed as various school districts had different issues, and “we lost them one by one,” Dennis said. “None of the teams I competed against when I was on the team still have a gymnastics team.
“Now we have to travel farther for our meets, but we’ve been able to remain competitive. The connections we’ve made across the state have been extensive.”
For example, Waynesboro must travel to Altoona for meets, a 100-mile drive.
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association used to conduct a championship meet at the end of the season. That meet was replaced by the Pennsylvania Classic State Championship.
Over the years, the team has won several state championships in various divisions. In 2010, the Maidens won the Gold Division, the highest division. Waynesboro won the Bronze Division crown in 2019 and the Silver Division in 2018.
“Winning the Gold Division championship in 2010 has to be the best ‘big’ moment that I’ve been a part of with the team,” Dennis said. “We were strong from top to bottom that year with Liz Moyer, Mackenzie Brumbaugh, Tracie Cline, Lyndsay Vickery and Mary Moyer leading the lineup. But even beyond that, we had strong routines from Kristin Taylor, Lili Daniel and Kelsey Davis.”
Speaking of Moyer, she set the Waynesboro school records on vault, bars, floor and all-around during the 2009-10 season.
Moyer’s all-around record of 38.025 was set on Dec. 18, 2009. Her vault record of 9.7 was set on Feb. 19, 2010, and her floor record of 9.775 was set on March 13, 2010.
Moyer’s record on bars fell on Feb. 3, 2018, to Alex Stoops. Stoops set the new record at the St. Mary’s Invitational with a 9.6.
Speaking of 2018 and 2019, success again visited Waynesboro’s gymnasts. The Maidens competed at the silver level in 2018 and the bronze division in 2019. Back-to-back state championships meant two more title banners adorning the wall in the high school gymnasium.
“We had a talented group of seniors in both 2018 and 2019,” Dennis said. “(The 2019) seniors – Mikayla Bryan, Tirza Cartwright, Madeline Johnson, Lydia Schoonover and Annie Slemmer had been preceded by the group of Karly Atkinson, Christa Benchoff, Megan Himes, Haley Howes, Megan Kelley and Alex Stoops.
“That’s a lot of leadership, confidence and experience, and that is invaluable for a team at a state championship.”
Waynesboro has boasted several individual state champions, including J.J. Wedekind, who won the vault title in 2019.
The Maidens finished third in the bronze division at state. Bella Bonner was seventh on bars and 10th all-around in silver.
A year later, Waynesboro finished first in the silver division in the state championships with a 140.5.
“That was our highest team score of the season by far,” said Dennis.
In the diamond division, Jada Creager was fifth on vault, sixth on bars and eighth all-around. Jenna Geesaman was seventh all-around and on vault and eighth on beam.
In the silver division, Bella Bonner was eighth on bars and 10th all-around. In bronze, Annabelle Lutz was sixth on beam and 10th on vault. Madalynn Wedekind was sixth on vault and 10th on floor.
Waynesboro advanced to the gold division in the 2021-22 season and placed fifth at states with a score of 142.708, the team’s highest score since setting a team record in 2010.
Individually, in the diamond division, Camryn Bonner was fifth on beam and seventh all-around, and Jada Creager was fifth on vault, seventh on beam and floor and ninth all-around.
