Madison Marquardt

An 11-year-old gymnast from Waterloo is rising through the ranks of the sport, winning an all-around regional championship over the weekend.

Madison Marquardt, the daughter of James and Sarah Marquardt of Waterloo and granddaughter of Stan and Sue Shipp of Waterloo, was selected as grand champion of the USA Gymnastics Region 4 Championships held in Minneapolis.

Region 4 consists of seven states: Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Iowa. 

Madison placed first in vault, second in floor/beam, and fifth in bars, good enough for first place overall.

Madison, who is a sixth grader at Waterloo Junior High School, competes for Missouri because that is where her gym (Barron’s Gymnastics in Arnold, Mo.) is located. 

“To be invited to regionals you must get a minimum score at your state competition,” Sarah Marquardt explained.

Madison won second place at state, missing first by 7/10ths of a point. She placed second in all events, including all-around, qualifying her for an invitation to regionals. 

Two years ago, Madison was crowned Missouri state champion.

So far this season, Madison has competed in multiple meets around St. Louis, Columbia, Mo., and Springfield, Mo. In January, she competed at the Arizona Grand Invitational in Phoenix, taking first place in vault. 

In the past couple of years, some of her out-of-state competitions have been in Hilton Head, Orlando, Nashville and Chicago. 

 Madison has been participating in gymnastics for five years, according to her mother.

“She puts in about 12 hours per week,” Sarah Marquardt said.

Madison is currently at Level 6 in the junior olympic scale out of 10 levels. Once a gymnast completes all 10 levels, they move up to Elite status.

“Her goal is to train really hard and hopefully be able to skip Level 7 and go straight to Level 8,” her mother said.

Ultimately, Madison hopes to compete at the college level. And who knows? Maybe we’ll even see her competing for gold on the olympic stage.