Northwestern’s Rhys George suffered an unfortunate concussion in November that forced him to miss two months of gymnastics. It was a setback that wasn’t easy to deal with, but he’s now back to what he knows best.

George recently showed that he’s returned to his old form. In the annual Brian Babcock Memorial at Parkettes, he placed in the top 10 gymnasts out of 50 Level 9 males in the all around during the three-day event in early February.

It was the 18th straight year Parkettes has held the event and brings in gymnasts from all around the country and even outside the United States.

“I felt that my performance was one of my better ones so far this year,” George said. “I ended up getting eighth place in the Level 9 all around out of 50 gymnasts in my age group. Kids came from all over the country and there were two gymnasts from Canada there, so I was happy.”

His performance may have been even more special considering the circumstances George had to go through just a couple of months ago. George had no idea what to anticipate in this year’s event.

“I had a concussion in November that took me out of event training for two months, so I didn’t know what to expect,” George said. “I just went out there and tried to keep my routines clean and minimize deductions. My coach, Joe Stallone, also asked me to be part of that Friday night’s Team Cup competition with some of my older teammates, and that was a lot of fun.”

The injury bug struck a year ago as well, forcing George to miss that very same home meet at Parkettes. This year, he didn’t waste the opportunity. In the age 14 division, George placed in the top 14 of all six events counted in the all around score: floor (12.70 score), pommel horse (11.90), rings (11.50), vault (11.70), parallel bars (11.90) and high bars (11.60).

“Since this is my home meet, I compete here every year and am used to that high level of competition,” George said. “But I always enjoy it because it is a really neat experience to see what other gymnasts from all over the country have to offer. Last year I was hurt and couldn’t compete, so I was excited to be back there this year.”

Placing in the top 10 was certainly gratifying for George, but he has even higher hopes for the future. He was looking forward to the state championships in Williamsport where he hopes to build on a past floor championship. So, regionals is clearly on his list of goals, as is a return trip to nationals shortly thereafter.

“Last year I qualified for nationals for the first time, made it to the event finals in rings and pommel horse, and I got sixth in the nation on rings,” George said. “When I was a Level 5, I was the state floor champion, [and] when I was a Level 6 I was the all-around state champion and won event titles on high bar, rings and parallel bars.

“I was also the regional rings champion twice, once in Level 5 and once in Level 8.”

Nationals will be held in Indianapolis this year. For a gymnast that started at the young age of three and continues to play baseball in his free time, George is hoping to reach that mountaintop of gymnastics once again.

“I was an active 3-year old and my parents were looking for something for me to do, so I tried gymnastics, thinking that the skills of strength, balance, and flexibility would transfer into future sports,” George said. “I ended up liking the sport, so I stuck with it.”