Redwood Coast Gymnastics Opens Spring Season at California Grand Invitational

Press release from the RCG Booster:

Maya Dalton, Myiah Punch, Momo Baxter, Jesse Bestul, Aubrey Dalton (Xcel Golds)

The Redwood Coast Gymnastic team opened its spring season Saturday January 10th in Anaheim at the California Grand Invitational, a meet featuring thousands of gymnasts from across the United States and Canada. While the competition was optional, seven RCG athletes opted to make the trip and compete.

The team competed in a different league within USA Gymnastics that is new to RCG, with five gymnasts competing in Xcel Gold and two in Xcel Silver, enabling all gymnasts to debut new and challenging skills. The coaching staff was proud of the athletes’ performances, attitude, and willingness to show newer and harder skills at this competition. All competing athletes were able to qualify to [the] 2026 State Championships scheduled for March 2026.

Momo Baxter on Vault

The highlight of the meet came in the final rotation, when Momo Baxter captured a gold medal on vault with a score of 9.35. Baxter finished the meet with a 35.1 all-around score in Xcel Gold. Jesse Bestul recorded the highest all-around total for RCG’s Gold team, scoring 35.225. Bestul delivered a consistent performance across all four events, with no scores below 8.5 and highlighted by a 9.0 on balance beam.

Jesse Bestul on Beam

As a group, the Gold team opened the meet on uneven bars with a challenging first rotation, but improved on each subsequent event. In the second rotation, Aubrey Dalton placed fifth in her division on the balance beam with a score of 8.975. Strong performances followed on floor exercise, where several RCG gymnasts scored above 9.0, including Baxter (9.175), Myiah Punch (9.05), and Maya Dalton (9.025). The team closed the meet on vault with all RCG Gold gymnasts scoring above 8.5.

Myiah Punch, Momo Baxter, Aubrey Dalton, Jesse Bestul, & Maya Dalton (Xcel Golds)

Abigail Clair and Annika Dieker represented RCG in the Xcel Silver division. Clair’s strongest performance came on balance beam in her opening event, scoring 8.825 to place 12th. Dieker recorded an 8.75 on vault, earning 11th place. Both gymnasts demonstrated consistency throughout the meet, with less than a half-point difference between their highest and lowest event scores.

Abigail Clair & Annika Dieker (Xcel Silvers)

RCG has four weeks to prepare for its next competition, the Novato Classic, on Feb. 6-7. The full 14-member team will compete across Xcel Silver, Xcel Gold, Level 6, and Level 7. The foray into Xcel is new to RCG and the gymnasts and coaches alike are looking forward to updating routines and sharpening execution as they move forward through the upcoming season.

Abigail Clair, Annika Dieker, Aubrey Dalton, Myiah Punch, Leila, Maya Dalton