These pint-sized girls are gymnastic powerhouses.
Reid Lawter, Melanie Patch and Molly Overstreet have been studying at Cardinal Gymnastics with Coach Kurt Turner for several years, dreaming of the day they would compete at the Olympics. They moved a step closer to that goal in June, when they each won a gold medal at a state meet, defeating a group of girls from Virginia Beach who had never been defeated.
"This is just the biggest deal for these girls," said Kim Lawter, Reid's proud mom. "They each broke their personal best records and came home with gold medals."
The girls, ages 9 and 10, have been practicing their round-offs, handsprings and back flips since they were 3-years-old or younger.
Reid, for example, started doing headstands when she was just 18-months-old, Kim Lawter said. Her favorite moves now are a little more complicated.
"I love to do round-off back handspring back tucks," said Reid, 9, of Clifton. "It's really fun."
Confident in her abilities, Reid said she was not nervous before her competition and knew she had done well when it was her turn on the floor.
"The most exciting thing was when I got a 9.850 on the floor," she said. "We went to have fun, but we were hoping we'd win. Our coach is very proud of us."
Reid said she keeps her medals on the wall of her room.
Molly Overstreet of Franconia followed in the footsteps of her two older sisters and started taking classes when she was 2, said mom Kristen Overstreet.
"These girls have been taking three-hour classes, four days a week, for years," Kristen Overstreet said. "When they went to states, they were up against 31 other girls in their age groups."
Molly came in 11th place overall, a notable achievement considering 352 girls entered the competition.
"I won a medal for every event but vault," Molly said. "My favorite thing on the floor is a back handspring. It's simple, sort of, and it's fun. I like to do a lot of them in a row, but sometimes I get dizzy."
Molly scored a 9.825 on her floor exercises, out of a possible 10 point. She hangs her medals on a mirror in her bedroom.
"I have a lot of them," she said.
One day, she hopes to add Olympic gold to that collection.
Kristen Overstreet credits the girls' success to the care and oversight of their coach, Kurt Turner.
"He does a fabulous job with them," she said. "He's just phenomenal."
THE GIRLS STUDY 12-hours per week year-round, with a two-week break in the summer. Melanie Patch, however, was at camp when The Connection called to interview her.
"She's at gymnastics camp right now," said Melanie's mom, Sheila Patch, from their Fairfax Station home. "That's how much she loves gymnastics."
Melanie got her start at a Mommy and Me gymnastics class, Sheila Patch said.
"We did it just for fun at first, but when the coaches saw how strong and flexible she was, they wanted her to take more serious classes and compete," she said. Her first few years were spent with different coaches than Kurt Turner, who has taken over this year. The transition was seamless, Sheila Patch said.
Like her teammates, Melanie won a gold medal for her floor performance. She also received medals in all other areas of the competition except the vault, Sheila Patch said.
"I think I was probably more nervous [during the competition] than she was," Sheila Patch said. "She's very composed and has learned to deal with the pressure."
She believes this is the first of many victories the girls will share together.
"I think the girls will be a very powerful team together," she said. "We hope for a big future for them."
That hope is echoed by coach Kurt Turner.
"You can tell by the way they work at it they're happy to be here," he said of the dedication and time devoted to gymnastics by the three young girls. "When they're here, (gymnastics) is their job. "
Turner said he was proud of the girls for helping Cardinal Gymnastics take first place statewide on the floor competition, something the school has never before achieved.
Looking to the future, he said the girls know it just gets harder from here.
"They need to know the truth so they understand when the time comes," he said. "I expect perfection and for them to be as close to that as possible. I'm very proud of the girls, they excelled and their hard work paid off when it was supposed to."