The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Sports

December 19, 2009

Tabor's skills have vault-ed her to the top

By Robert Walling

When 6-year-old Chelsi Tabor competed in her first gymnastics meet, she scored a zero in the vault. She was too small to reach across the horse, let alone jump onto the platform.

But as her physical strength increased with age, vaulting came naturally to her and required less concentration than other gymnastics events. The Beckley native and 2006 Woodrow Wilson High School graduate’s developing vaulting skills carried her to a place on the West Virginia University gymnastics team as one of the region’s top vaulters.

“I guess it’s always been the biggest challenge, but also came easiest,” she said.

Since joining the WVU gymnastics team as a freshman in 2007, Tabor has improved her statistics for the vault with every season, and recently ranked among the conference’s best competitors for the event.

“Gymnastics is always chasing perfection. That is the biggest challenge,” she said.

Tabor tied WVU teammate Tina Maloney as individual vault champion her junior year with a score of 9.900 at the 2009 East Atlantic Gymnastics League Championship. Tabor also finished her junior 2009 season by placing as a first-team All-East Atlantic Gymnastics League vaulter, repeating another first-team placing from her 2008 season.

Accomplishments at WVU have only added to Tabor’s long résumé as one of West Virginia’s best gymnasts.

While a senior at Woodrow, she qualified as the West Virginia USA Gymnastics Level 10 overall state champion. Level 10 is the highest rating given to junior competitors competing at the national level.

In the 2006 regionals, Tabor placed fifth on beam, sixth on vault and seventh all-around.

The finish in the all-around was enough to qualify Tabor for the 2006 Junior Olympic National Championship Level 10 in Oklahoma City. There, she placed 19th on vault at while her team finished in second place overall.

Even before those accomplishments, Tabor’s place on the WVU gymnastics team was well secured.

“Her vault was outstanding,” WVU gymnastics coach Linda Burdette-Good said. “That’s why we recruited her.”

West Virginia is not a big state, so if an athlete is ranked at Level 10, it calls attention, Burdette-Good said. The head coach has also known Tabor since the Beckley native began attending WVU-sponsored gymnastics camps at age 9. Burdette-Good plans to start Tabor at the vault for the upcoming 2010 season but hasn’t decided whether to start her at beam, the only other event she has competed in at WVU.

During her freshman season, Tabor sat out two months with a leg injury. She said she found dealing with the injury difficult, yet motivating. Watching her teammates compete made her even more excited to jump back into vaulting.

“I am the type of person who always wants to be in action, and I always want to be participating in everything,” she said.

Tabor hopes to use what she’s learned on the WVU gymnastics team beyond college.

After graduation in 2010 with a degree in physical education, she hopes to return to Beckley to teach and coach gymnastics.

The WVU gymnastics team kicks off its 2010 season on Jan. 9 at the Blue and Gold Meet in Morgantown.

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