Halton Hills gymnast third at L.A. meet

A member of the Halton Hills Gymnastics Club recently achieved what's considered the best-ever showing at an elite level for the local organization at an international-level competition in Los Angeles, Ca. Fourteen-year-old Marc Gaudet De Lestard of Limehouse placed third overall out of 27 entries from across North America in the Level 6 division for his age group at the Peter Vidmar Gymnastics Invitational, earning gold medals in the parallel bars and rings events, along with a bronze on the vault as the top performer for Team Ontario. "I didn't expect to do that well," said the Grade 9 Acton District High School student. "It was the toughest competition I've ever had to go against, so to get a medal was great." Team Ontario, overseen in part by De Lestard's Halton Hills club coach, Nistor Sandro, also finished first overall in the Peter Vidmar competition's team standings. "That's definitely the highest level any club member from here has achieved," said Sandro. "Marc has excellent potential and it

will be interesting to see what he could do at the nationals." De Lestard, who is ranked in the top seven for his age category in the province, will attempt to qualify for the Canadian championships next month in Saskatoon at the Eastern Regionals competition April 19-21 in Oakville.