Top gymnast Mariani in UA’s backyard
When Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne hires a new gymnastics coach, one of the coach’s first recruiting stops will be to Tucson’s Arizona Dynamics Gymnastics center, where coach Regina Mueller-Martin has one of America’s leading prospects. Sabino High freshman Madison Mariani won the Western Regional All-Around championships last week in San Francisco as a Level 10 performer (that’s the equivalent of a college gymnast) and is likely to be the favorite at the May 16-17 Junior Olympics nationals in Des Moines, Iowa. Mariani is the No. 1 all-around gymnast in her age-group and has won 16 of her last 17 all-around competitions. In the last five years, Mueller-Martin’s gym has produced Utah’s Kassandra Lopez of Amphi; Arizona’s Selynna Felix-Terrazas of Flowing Wells; and currently has Sahuaro’s Natasha Trejo, who has signed with BYU; and Catalina Foothills’ Corinne Belkoff, who has signed with ASU.
