The gymnastics season at the school is officially over. The school’s team went to districts and placed second with a score of 136.175. This allowed them to qualify for regionals, where they placed fifth overall with a score of 135.95. The school has been a regional and state contender for years.

This season, there were eight meets, three of them being at home, between districts and regionals. In these meets, there are four events: bar, beam, floor exercise and vault. However, one could potentially walk away with five medals, as scores on all four events are added to give an all-around score.

At regionals, the school had several athletes do extremely well. These athletes include Jori Willford, who tied for fifth on the floor with a score of 8.95 and received ninth on beam with a score of 9.125, and Sophie Meyer, who placed seventh on beam with a score of 9.275 and tied ninth on bars with a score of 8.5.

At districts, the school had more athletes stand out: Melissa Roman Lau, who placed fifth in the all-around event with a score of 33.75; Willford, who was seventh in the all-around with a 33.65; Taylor McDonnell, who was eighth in the all-around with a 33.425; and Jane Perry, who tied for fourth on vault with an 8.775.

The school has had a strong gymnastics program for years, with 12 district appearances (including this season) starting in 1976. The team has also had seven appearances for regionals, starting in 2012. The team has made states once, in 2013, and placed third.

Sophie Meyer is a freshman at the school and has done gymnastics for 10 years. She recommends others to join the team as it is a very fun community to be a part of.

“I think [the team] is a great learning experience; gymnastics is a great base for other sports,” Meyer said. “The team is so much fun, they have a lot of fun at competitions. Even if you aren’t very good, you can have a blast.”

Meyer added that the team’s atmosphere is another bonus.

“Everyone is super positive and encouraging,” Meyer said. “They are all so welcoming, and they are very funny.”
Meyers also said that to make the team, students just need to know the basics of gymnastics. The team’s skill level is balanced.
“I would say you just [need to] have a basic understanding of what gymnastics is,” Meyer said. “At practice, they [the coaches] can help you with your skills. After the coaches help you and your skills become better, you can probably compete. The skill level of most people is pretty high, with a good amount of people being level seven or higher. The people who haven’t done gymnastics before are still very good because they have done similar sports to gymnastics, like cheerleading. So, overall, our team has a pretty high skill level out of the other teams in our district.”
When asked about next season, Meyer said that she can’t wait to compete again with her teammates.
“Yes, I definitely do. I can’t wait to compete with all my teammates.” Meyer said. “I can’t wait for new friends on the team, like new freshmen. Hopefully, the school is very good next year, so they [will] beat a lot of teams. Also, next year I will be on a higher level, so my routines will score higher with better skills in them.”