Reaching the bar
BUTLER TWP — The tradition continues.
Ohio State University sophomore Eddie Hay, Illinois freshman Chad Wiest, Iowa freshman Dusty Cranmer and Penn State freshman Cody Carnahan all took part in the NCAA Men’s Gymnastics National Championships this season.
All four came through the Butler Gymnastics Club.
Carnahan’s Penn State team won the national championship and Wiest placed third in floor exercise, thus becoming an all-American.
Next weekend four more members of the Butler Gymnastic Club will be competing at nationals.
Nick Grant, Aaron Zaiser and J.B. Kolod are headed to Oklahoma City for the male nationals, while Natalie Beilstein will be competing at the female nationals in Mason, Ohio.
“We’ve had a run of dedicated, talented gymnasts come through here,” Butler boys coach Kevin Hallinan said. “It’s been enjoyable.”
Hallinan is leaving the Butler program to coach and run a gymnastics program in New York, closer to home.
“We’re going to miss him,” said Butler Gymnastics Club owner and girls coach Steve Heasley. “Kevin saw these kids through and helped them reach their potential.”
Justin Whitman, Hallinan’s assistant and a Slippery Rock University student, will take over as boys coach next year.But this year isn’t over yet.Grant, 16, a sophomore at Butler, is a Level 10 gymnast who won the floor exercise championship at the regional meet.He is headed to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs next fall, becoming the first Butler gymnast to do so.“With my coach leaving here, this is an opportunity I want to explore to continue my development,” Grant said. “It’s going to be tough leaving my family and all my friends at school, but I feel like I have to try it.”Grant will live with a host family and attend school in Colorado Springs. He hopes to go there with a national championship.
“I feel like this is my year,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get to the second day in all-around, too.”The top 35 all-around scorers during the first day advance to the second day of competition.Hallinan said Grant has used Wiest as a role model.“He gets his inspiration and drive from Chad and what he’s accomplished,” the coach said. “He wants to go down that same road.”Zaiser, 18, is a home-schooled Level 10 gymnast coming off a torn rotator cuff. He missed two months of training last summer.At the regional meet, Zaiser placed fourth in the floor exercise and eighth in the vault.Kolod, 14, is an eighth grader at Fox Chapel and competes in Level 9. He finished among the top 20 in all around at regionals.“He’s a surging talent, a very intellectual gymnast,” Hallinan said. “It won’t take him long to get near the top.”
Beilstein has been on top for a while. She won a national title in floor exercise last year and scored a 37.525 in all- around at the regional this year, missing first place by less than a point.The Knoch student placed second on the floor with a 9.575, fifth on the vault with a 9.5 and fifth on the bars with a 9.3 at this year’s regional meet.“My goals are just to go out there and have fun,” Beilstein said. “Sure, I’d like to win again, but if that doesn’t happen, just have fun.”Such a carefree attitude may seem to lack intensity, but Heasley likes it.“When you’re loose in this sport, you perform,” he said. “And that’s what Natalie does. She thrives on competition. When the big meets come around, she’s at her best.”Along with winning a national title last season, Beilstein competed in an international meet in Mexico in January, winning the floor title and finishing second in all around.“She’s such a likeable kid,” Heasley said. “Every girl in this gym looks up to her.”
