Around Town: Marengo gymnast Reese Samuelson, 10, to compete at Sears Centre

Marengo gymnast Reese Samuelson qualified to compete in the USA Gymnastics Hopes Championships on Friday and Saturday at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.

Reese, 10, who trains at the Gymnastics Academy of Rockford, will compete in the 10-to-11-year-old division.

Getting there was not easy. Reese had to first advance at the Buckeye Classic in February in Columbus, Ohio. She then qualified at the Hopes Classic May 31 in Huntsville, Texas.

At the Hopes Classic, Reese took 13th with an all-around score of 48.60. She placed 11th in both the balance beam (12.6) and the floor exercise (12.4).

The Hopes program is a pre-elite competition that uses international scoring and factors in the difficulty of the routine along with performance. In the balance beam, Reese scored an 8.3 that was added to the 4.3 degree of difficulty.

She competed at Level 9 last season and will move up to Level 10 and, she hopes, the junior elite level.

Only 15 girls in her division qualified for the championships by meeting the minimum score of 47. Reese was the only qualifier from Illinois.

Reese said the Hopes Classic was different than other meets in which she has competed because she did her routine for the judges and just a few spectators.

“It’s been a little nervous competing,” Reese said. “There’s not a whole crowd watching you. It’s really quiet.”

It’s more of a mental strain than a physical one when she’s competing.

“It’s trying to keep my focus,” Reese said. “Trying hard not to think about it and making a mistake.”

Reese has been competing since she was 7, and it didn't take long before she knew she had a future in gymnastics.

“I started winning a lot of first places.” Reese said “It started getting easier.”

Easier but still a lot of hard work. She trains for many hours each week and is always anxious to take on new challenges.

“I like doing a lot of skills and flipping,” Reese said. “Whenever my coach asked, ‘Do you want to do this?’ I always say yes.”

One of the most challenging events for her is the balance beam. She said it’s best not to focus too much on the apparatus.

“It’s only 4 inches, so it’s a little scary because you don’t know if you’re going to fall,” Reese said. “I kind of (try to) forget that.”

• Rob Smith is a sports writer for the Northwest Herald. Write to him at rsmith@shawmedia.com.