Name Ava Piedrahita Birthday February 2, 2004 Hometown Damascus, Maryland Parents William and Kelly Piedrahita Hobbies Movies, art & crafts, swimming, biking School John T Baker Middle School Grad Year Class of 2022 GPA Honor Roll

Ava Piedrahita was born on February 2, 2004 in Maryland to William and Kelly Piedrahita. She is the youngest of three children and she has an older brother, Tony and an older sister, Kaitlyn. Ava is an honor student at John T. Baker Middle School and she will graduate from high school in 2022. When she has time outside of gymnastics, she enjoys watching movies, painting & drawing, crafts, swimming and biking. Ava also loves to play with her two little dogs named Tuxi and Teddy.

Ava started gymnastics because her sister Kaitlyn was in gymnastics back in 2007 and she was just tagging along running around in the waiting room. She started with recreational classes for a couple of years then was invited to team at Hill's Gymnastics in Gaithersburg, MD. Ava started competing level 4 in 2012 where she finished second in the all-around with a 38.350, first on balance beam and second on vault and uneven bars. She tested out of level 5 and quickly moved up to level 6 for the 2013 season.

As a level 7 gymnast in 2014, Ava placed fourth in the all-around with a 37.925, second on balance beam and fourth on vault and uneven bars at the State Championships. She moved up to level 8 for the 2015 season. At the State Championships, Ava placed fourth in the all-around with a 37.775, first on uneven bars and third on balance beam and floor exercise. She qualified to the Region 7 Championships where she placed fourth in the all-around with a 37.925 and fourth on uneven bars.

In 2016, Ava competed as a level 9 and hopes pre-elite gymnast. At the State Championships, she won the all-around title with a 37.125 and grabbed gold medals on vault, uneven bars and floor exercise. She had a great meet at the Region 7 Championships where she finished first in the all-around with a 37.925, first on vault, second on uneven bars and balance beam and third on floor exercise. Ava qualified to the Level 9 Eastern Nationals in Virginia Beach, VA, finishing fifth in the all-around with a 37.300, fifth on balance beam and sixth on uneven bars. During the 2016 season, Ava also competed in national elite qualifiers where she easily qualified to hopes pre-elite. She competed at the Hopes Championships in Hartford, CT, finishing ninth in the all-around, third on floor exercise and seventh on uneven bars. Ava was unable to compete most of the season in 2017 due to an injury. She returned in time for the Region 7 Championships. She finished eighth in the all-around with a 37.275, fifth on uneven bars and seventh on balance beam. She was the first alternate for the Level 9 Eastern Nationals.

As a first-year level 10 gymnast in 2018, Ava finished first in the all-around with a 37.925 and first on vault, balance beam and floor exercise at the State Championships. At the Region 7 Championships, she placed second in the all-around with a 38.425 and first on uneven bars and floor exercise. She qualified to the Junior Olympic Nationals in Cincinnati, OH where she finished fifth on floor exercise. Ava was named to America's Top 100 on uneven bars twice.

Ava trains 32 hours per week at Hill's Gymnastics in Gaithersburg, MD under coaches Cynthia Smaha and Tony Eusini. Ava would like to qualify to the Junior Olympic Nationals and to obtain a Division I college gymnastics scholarship.