“At the beginning of the year, I set my goal to make the national team,” Worley said, “and I did.”
Raena Worley finished second on the balance beam at a national competition last month amongst junior gymnasts.
Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
For one New River Valley gymnast, her dream of training on the national level is about to become a reality. 15-year-old Raena Worley recently finished fourth in a national competition of junior gymnasts. Because of that finish, she has been invited to train next month at the Karolyi Ranch in Texas with 48 others from all over the country. Currently, she trains at Virginia Techniques in Christiansburg.
At nationals, Worley finished second in the balance beam, sixth in floor competition, 10th in the uneven bars and 11th in the vault. Her total marks placed her in the top four of all the competitors.
Worley started training at Virginia Techniques when she was four years old, and has won competition after competition every year since.
This year, she has received the following honors: fourth place in the Virginia State Championships, state all-around champion, state vault/beam and floor champion, silver medalist in Virginia Bar competition, regional all-around champion, regional beam and floor champion, regional silver medalist in bars, Junior National Silver Medalist in the beam, and Region 7 All-Star Team.
Other outstanding marks include: first place in the Techniques Invitational in vault, bars, beam and floor; first place at the Gymstrada Invitational in vault, bars, beam and floor; first place at the Rock Star Invitational in All-Around, vault, bar, beam and floor; first place at the Manhattan Classic in vault, bars, beam and floor; first place at the Presidential Classic in All-Around, vault, beam and floor; first place in the Charleston Cup for All-Around, vault, bars and floor; and was a member of first place teams at the Gymstrada Invitational, Manhattan Classic and Charleston Cup.
“At the beginning of the year, I set my goal to make the national team,” Worley said, “and I did.”
“I feel I’ve been working for this for a long time,” the young gymnast said. While she has seen her share of national competition over the past few years, it’s nothing like what she is about to see. The three gymnasts that finished in front of her at the recent junior nationals were also invited.
Worley is excited about training with other top competitors. Since she returned from the national junior competition in Indianapolis, she has stepped up her daily routine, working 10 times harder.
Cheryl Johnson is the owner of Virginia Techniques and one of three coaches that have helped Worley along her way.
“Raena is like a second child to me. I am so proud of what she has been able to accomplish,” Johnson. She will accompany Worley to the national training facility.
“That night (at nationals) Raena was on fire and knew exactly what to do.”
Johnson is also beaming with the fact that a small town gymnastics studio has a participant heading to the national training facility.
“It’s exciting. It’s our first junior Olympic member from southwest Virginia, and it definitely is great for our gym. Raena is such a great role model for the younger kids here at Virginia Techniques, and this should help to motivate many of them,” she said.
The other coaches are Devonta Brown and Gabriela Aron. “We are all very proud of her,” said Johnson who is a former gymnast herself.
Worley will also compete in an international event in Peru in October. Again Johnson will accompany her.
The teenager has already set her future gymnastic path in motion after being offered a scholarship from the University of Kentucky. “I want to go there and be in the Super 6 in the nation, and win a national championship,” she said.
From there who knows, Worley might be one of the Fab Four that we watch one day in the Olympics winning another gold medal for USA.
