Valley City gymnast Abbey Thornton will compete at the USA Gymnastics (USAG) Level 10 Region 4 meet in Milwaukee, Wisconsin April 14th .

Thornton qualified for this meet by finishing third in the USAG North Dakota state meet with an all-around score of 34.3. Region 4 is made up of gymnasts from North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri.

Thornton forgave her senior year of high school gymnastics to chase her dream and accomplish her
goals in the sport that she has loved for many years.

“I have always wanted to be a collegiate gymnast and I knew that if I wanted to get recruited, I had to go strictly USAG”, said Thornton.

Thornton is achieving her goals one step at a time. She has committed to a college that will be revealed after the Region 4 meet. “My other goals in the sport have been to compete at the highest level possible in North Dakota, which is level 10, qualify for the Region 4 meet and qualify for nationals in Oklahoma City”.

Thornton has been commuting with her younger sister, Skylar, who finished second all-around at the USAG State
Level 3 Meet. Thornton puts in four hours a day, five days a week of practice, after going to a full day of school and driving an hour each way.

“It is a very big commitment from a 17-year-old to do this, but I am very proud of her for chasing her dream and accomplishing her goals”, said Thornton’s mother, Janet.