Alumni Hall of Fame
Athletic Achievement (2024)

Laura (Spencer) Yelton is a member of the St. Marys Memorial High School Class of 1978 and was the first individual state champion for St. Marys Memorial High School, placing 1st in Floor Exercise in Gymnastics in 1977. Laura began dancing at the age of four at Maeva’s School of Dance in Wapakoneta, Ohio. In 1971, Maeva took Laura to a gymnastics clinic at Michigan State University, where coaches encouraged her to train in gymnastics. That fall, her parents enrolled her with Dayton Central YMCA Women’s Gymnastics. They drove Laura one hour each way to practice five days a week, where Laura competed in AAU and U.S. Gymnastics Federation (USGF) competition for the Dayton YMCA, and later at TWIGS Gymnastics (True Winner in God’s Service) until 1976. During this time, Laura earned various age/level state championships and competed at USGF Nationals in 1975 and 1976.

In 1977, Laura left TWIGS Gymnastics to compete for Memorial High School (MHS). She credited this switch for reigniting her competitive spirit and drive. At MHS, under Coach Mary Lou Bambauer, Laura competed at the highest – or Advanced Level. She led the Rider team to a perfect 10-0 season, placing first in all league meets in individual events and in the All-Around competition. At that time, floor music was limited to either piano or music from a single instrument. Laura played piano, so she recorded her own floor music for competitions. Laura advanced to District competition where she placed first in the All-Around Competition with a score of 69.44, competing against 33 other teams. Only Advanced Gymnasts were qualified to attend the meet. Laura won the All-Around by over 6 points from the second-place finisher, placing first in Floor Exercise and Vault and second in Balance Beam and Uneven Bars. Her first-place finish qualified her to advance to the state competition meet. There, Laura won Floor Exercise with a 18.1 score – the highest score for any gymnast at the state meet in any event that year - giving St. Marys MHS its first state champion title. Though Laura was suffering the effects of the stomach flu during the meet, she placed fifth on Balance Beam (16.5), sixth in Vault (16.6), and finished sixth in the All-Around Competition (65.7). Her overall score qualified Laura to advance to the USGF state meet.

During her senior year, Laura led the Rider gymnastics team to its third consecutive undefeated season. Laura again won the All-Around title at the Northwest District meet with a score of 72.23, finishing first on the Balance Beam (17.72), Floor Exercise (18.46), and Vault (18.73) and second on the Uneven Bars (17.3). In addition, Laura led her team to its first-ever District Championship, defeating 10 other teams. The first-place finish allowed the Rider team to qualify for the state meet for the first time in school history. There, she placed second in the state on Balance Beam with a 17.85 score but broke her ankle on a vault landing and was not able to compete in Floor Exercise. Even with an injury, Laura placed ninth overall.  Laura also was a Varsity Cheerleader her senior year.

Laura was awarded a gymnastics scholarship from Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) where she competed for the EKU Colonels. During her freshman year, she averaged 31.85 for her All Around score. EKU finished second at the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) State Meet, where Spencer placed fourth on Beam and second on Floor Exercise. The team advanced to Regionals where Spencer won the Balance Beam competition and placed fourth on Floor Exercise. The team scored well enough to advance to the 1979 AIAW National Championships. In her senior year at EKU in 1981-1982, Co-Captain Laura Spencer set the all-time record score for gymnastics at EKU with a 9.4 on Beam. Laura was named the Regional Beam Champion, Regional Floor Champion, and placed second in the All-Around competition, leading EKU to the AIAW Regional Championship. She was named EKU’s Co-Sportswoman of the Year for Gymnastics and College Athlete of the Year for EKU in 1982.

Laura graduated from EKU in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education. She opened her own State Farm Insurance Agency in St. Marys and has been an active member of the St. Marys business community for over 30 years. In 2020, she and other community members formed the St. Marys Area Resource Team - or SMART. She was chosen for the Builder of Bridges Award in 2022 and the Ambassador Award in 2024 from the Grand Lake Visitors Center.



For earning the first state championship title in Roughrider history, for winning the state title in Floor Exercise in Gymnastics in 1977, for leading the Rider Gymnastic team to an undefeated season and their first state team appearance, and for competing at the highest levels in gymnastics in college, the St. Marys Memorial High School Alumni Foundation inducts Laura (Spencer) Yelton into the St. Marys Memorial High School Alumni Foundation Hall of Fame for Athletic Achievement.