Name: Marcela Bonifasi
Club: Guatemalan Gymnastics Federation Training Center/Roswell Gymnastics
High School Graduation Year: 2020
NCAA Team: Alaska
Commitment Announcement: Alaska Release
Social Handles: Twitter | Instagram
Personal Bests | Level 10
| Vault | Uneven Bars | Balance Beam | Floor Exercise |
| 9.175 | 9.000 | 9.475 | 9.500 |
Personal Bests | Elite
| Vault | Uneven Bars | Balance Beam | Floor Exercise |
| 12.066 | 10.433 | 11.833 | 12.400 |
Videos | Level 10
| Vault | Uneven Bars | Balance Beam | Floor Exercise |
| – | Training (2018) | 2017 Atlanta Crown Invitational | 2020 Tampa Bay Turner’s Invitational |
Videos | Elite
| Vault | Uneven Bars | Balance Beam | Floor Exercise |
| – | – | 2017 Central American Sports Festival | 2017 Central American Sports Festival |
About Marcela
Bonifasi has competed both as an elite for Guatemala, her country of origin, and as a level 10 in the U.S. since 2017. She has plenty of international experience. She competed at the Central American Sports Festival in 2017, at the Pan American Championships in 2018 and at the world championships in 2019. As a level 10, she is a two-time Region 8 qualifier (2018 and 2019).
What She Brings to Alaska
Vault
There is not enough information to comment on Bonifasi’s vault.
Uneven Bars
- Skills: backward giant with half turn to forward giant with half turn, blind full to double tuck dismount
- Results: 42nd place at the 2018 Pan American championships
- Margin of Improvement: The only available video of Bonifasi’s bar work is an incomplete training video from 2018. There, her dismount was ready for college, but she did not show any release skills. Her elite and level 10 scores were quite low, but we do not have enough information to comment on what she will bring to Alaska. Her form on the training video was pretty good.
- Impact on the Team: Alaska has lost its two best bar workers to both graduation and transfer. It is in need of good competitors, but it is unclear whether it will find one in Bonifasi.
Balance Beam
- Skills: front aerial, side aerial to leap jump to back handspring, side somi, BHS + LOSO, full turn with the leg held at 180 degrees, 2.5 twist dismount
- Results: 34th place at the 2018 Pan American Championships
- Margin of Improvement: We do not have many videos featuring Bonifasi’s gymnastics, but from what we can see her execution is very good on beam, though her consistency could improve. In elite her scores were quite low because she did not connect many skills, but this will not be an issue in college. In 2018 she was also training several beam connection series: a side aerial to layout stepout, a switch leap half to leap jump to back handspring and a side aerial to switch leap to full turn with the leg held at 180 degrees to full turn.
- Impact on the Team: Alaska has just lost three of its five top scorers on beam and will be delighted to find a strong replacement in Bonifasi.
Floor Exercise
- Skills: Memmel, double tuck, 1.5 twist to front tuck, double twist / front 2.5 twist, front layout to front pike, front layout to front full
- Results: 36th place at the 2018 Pan American Championships
- Margin of Improvement: Bonifasi’s routine is quite difficult but the execution on her tumbling passes would benefit from some further height and amplitude.
- Impact on the Team: Alaska has just lost its three best floor workers and is in desperate need to fill up the lineup. Bonifasi could fulfill that role if she can clean up her routine.
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Article by Talitha Ilacqua
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