Sports

West High School Student Competes at National Synchronized Skating Event

Morgan Reichert, a freshman at West, is among those that competed in California this week and won bronze.

A student competed at the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships this week along with other St. Louis athletes, a news release states, and won the bronze medal.

Morgan Reichert, a freshman at West, and other members of St. Louis Synergy's U.S. Figure Skating Intermediate Synchronized Skating Team recently won a silver medal at the Midwestern Sectionals Competition in Minnesota. The distinction led them to 2011 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships, March 2 – 5, at Citizens Business Bank Arena.

It marks the first time a Missouri team such as this one has qualified for the national synchronized skating competition and placed. Reichert said she was really excited to compete in southern California.

"This year, we have scored more points than our club has ever been able to score,” she said. "It’s really nice to be able to do so well in the division compared to some other, more experienced teams."

Reichert said that although her team has been in this division for only six years and is very young, she's confident it will be a high-level team next year.

Find out what's happening in Hazelwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Ramona Peterson, head coach for the Saint Louis Synergy intermediate team, explained the effect the medals have had on the team.

“This is so exciting," she said in a press release. "The skaters on the intermediate team have worked so hard (and) many of these athletes have skated together for the past six years (and) qualifying for Nationals has been one of their goals."

Find out what's happening in Hazelwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The team practices in conjunction with the Webster Groves-based Metro Edge Figure Skating Club. The club's synchronized skating teams are composed of between 10 and 20 members, who range in age from 4 to 18.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Hazelwood