Lake Highlands senior Benson Coleman won a gold medal in the all-around competition and took first place on the parallel bars and horizontal bar at the 2009 Highland Park Gymnastics Invitational. Benson competed in the varsity division, and also qualified to compete at the prestigious USA Gymnastics Pacific Coast Classic in California and the Texas High School State Meet in Garland in April.
“If Benson remains healthy, I expect him to win the gold at state,” LHHS coach and LHHS grad Jake Moran told me. “His best event is the high bar, where he scored 7th in California from among 100+ competitors from all over the US. The dismount Benson uses is called the ‘double front pike’, which the crowd loves to watch because he soars through the air over 15 feet above the ground.”
Benson will attend Oklahoma University next year, where he hopes to walk on to the gymnastics team. “Benson is not only a great gymnast,” said Coach Moran, “he is a class act in the classroom. With plans to major in engineering, he takes very difficult high school math and physics courses. I’m so grateful to have the chance to work with Benson before he graduates… he’s a wonderful young man and an excellent athlete.”
Moran is promoting the RISD gymnastics program and its change to a dedicated gymnastics facility to train students from all four RISD schools. After the jump, video of Benson’s dismount (courtesy of YouTube’s TColeman231):
