Bethel Park gymnast takes third all around
Lacey Hartman of Bethel Park finished third all-around during the state championships in gymnastics. Individually, she won the floor exercise, took the bronze on the balance beam and placed eighth on bars.
Lacey Hartman captured the bronze medal for the all-around in the Silver Division during the WPIAL gymnastics championships. The Bethel Park freshman also finished fourth and fifth individually in the vault and on the balance beam.
Bethel Park freshman Lacey Hartman captured the bronze medal in the all-around competition in the Silver Division during the WPIAL gymnastics championships.
Lacey Hartman
Lacey Hartman’s bid for a state championship medal in gymnastics nearly ended before the competition started.
During warmups, she injured her shoulder. She was doing a back handspring on the balance beam when something went awry.
“I was very excited but right before I competed on beam, I partially dislocated my shoulder. I’d not been injured before.”
So Hartman did what came naturally. She shouldered on.
“I pushed through it,” she said. “It was very difficult but I knew I had to compete.
“It was the state championships. My adrenalin was high. So I just tried my best. I’m glad I stuck it out.”
Hartman’s persistence paid off as she collected a bundle of awards. She placed third in the all-around and added Top 8 or better showings in three disciplines.
“I was very happy and surprised,” Hartman said of her performance. “I was not expecting to place because there was a lot of touch competition from all over the state. I knew some of them but I was not familiar with most of the competitors.”
Hartman, herself, is an unfamiliar face on the scholastic stage because she is only a freshman at Bethel Park High School.
After growing “tired” of competitive dance, Hartman started competing in gymnastics eight years ago. She trains under Jodi Cummings at the Premier Gym and Cheer facility located on Clairton Boulevard in Whitehall.
Hartman spends at least three hours at the gym five days a week. Her favorite apparatus is bars because she like to do different skills.
“I really love it at the gym, the coaches, the people and my teammates,” Hartman said. “I love learning new tricks and working up to the meets.”
Hartman performed a variety of new routines during the state championships.
She just missed placing on vault but scored an 8.7 on her half-on, half full-off maneuver. She scored eighth-place on the bars and took third on the balance beam before battling her way to a first-place finish on the floor exercise.
“I was pleased with my vault but disappointed in the place. It was my first event. I was not nervous. I just looked at it as another competition,” she said.
“I was hoping to get better on the beam but I learned something about myself to be able to power through after hurting my shoulder. On beam, I stuck the whole routine and did not fall off. Plus, I landed my side aerial.
“On bars, I did a different routine than WPIALS. I was a not happy with my score, I think my degree of difficulty wasn’t high enough.
Hartman “shocked” herself on the floor exercise. She scored an 8.6, one of her best scores ever.
“It was very difficult,” she said about doing those tumbling runs with her sore shoulder. “It hurt a lot but like on beam, I stuck the whole routine.”
Only a week earlier, Hartman nailed her performances at the WPIAL championships. She grabbed the bronze medal for the all-around in the Intermediate II Division with a 33.3 score.
Hartman was one-tenth away from a silver-medal finish. Central Valley’s Sydney Slater took that place with a 33.4 score while Moon’s Lila Van Arsdale claimed the gold with a 34.125 score.
Individually, Hartman stuck her landing and finished fourth in vault with an 8.7 score. She added fifth on floor with an 8.4 mark. She was ninth on beam (8.1750 and on bars (8.025).
“I was pleased with my performances,” Hartman said. “Ahead of me were seniors and I never competed against these girls before. So, I was excited about my showing and the score. Usually there is a bigger gap.”
Hartman plans to bridge that gap by increasing the difficulty in her routines as she aims for higher placement in future competitions.
“My goal is to do better,” she said. “Maybe win. I was just excited to get a medal this year but next year the goal is to work harder and go for the gold and win this thing.”
During the off season, Hartman has decided to dive. She is competing with the University of Pittsburgh diving club.
Gymnastics, however, remains her primary focus. Hartman plans to compete in the sport in college.
“I’m not looking at any schools yet but it’s something I hope to do. I’m going to have to do a lot of practice and work on new skills.”
Athleticism runs in the family. the 14-year-old daughter of Dan and Kerrie Hartman has three other siblings. Her brother, Brandon, 21, wrestled and played football at BP before enlisting in the United States Marine Corps. Another brother, Landon, is currently a member of the wrestling squad at BP. He’s also a football player. Younger sister, Macey, is also a gymnast.
“We are all very close and my family is very supportive of me,” Hartman said.
“We are beyond proud of her,” said Mrs. Hartman, who was a gymnast in her youth. “As a freshman, we are really blown away by her performances as an independent gymnast for BP.”