Roberts a step closer to berth on nationals

Ryan Roberts took another big step toward a berth on the national team and a trip to compete in Russia.

Roberts placed second overall in Synchronized Trampoline competition last week in the Visa National Gymnastics Championships in Dallas, Texas. He also took seventh place in individual trampoline and double mini trampoline competitions.

A Ramona High School seniors, Roberts won the competition in the 17- to 18-year-old division in the double mini trampoline competition and then took second place in the individual trampoline competition in that division.

Roberts, who has his goal set on making the national team and hopes to travel to Russia to represent the USA in November, will travel to Las Vegas in late September for his next competition.

Last week the

Sentinel

reported that Ryan was ranked 46th in the nation when he was 14 and improved to 14th at the age of 15. Those were actually world rankings, not national rankings.

Roberts competed in Dallas on the same venue as Bridget Sloan, who won a silver medal in last year’s Olympic and Ivana Hong and Rebecca Bross. The biggest names in U.S. gymnastics were there and Ryan Roberts made his name known.