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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Numbers indeed do lie


Michelle Judd of Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) competes on the balance beam during Wednesday night's Greater Spokane League four-way gymnastics meet at Mead High.
 (Brian Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)
J.D. Larson Correspondent

After a second straight season in which two GSL gymnastics teams finished in the top five at the State 4A tournament, the competitiveness of the GSL at a statewide level would appear to be improving.

If you looked at the scores after the first week of competition and compared them to last season, you’d think GSL gymnastics had fallen off the map.

Don’t believe it.

Every four years, the judging criteria changes, and this time, the change has created lower scores.

“I’m seeing very low-quality routines because the requirements have changed,” said University co-coach Tracy Duncan, who also judges. “It takes a lot more difficult moves to achieve a score. The gymnasts need to understand the significance of slight mistakes.”

Last year in the first week of competition, five teams posted a score of at least 160. This year, only three broke 150.

Also, seven gymnasts scored an all-around total of at least 34 during the first week last year. Only one did this time.

“As far as our staff, we kind of know what’s going on,” Mead head coach Amanda Workman said. “It will be simpler once we get used to it. We expect a little inconsistency because it’s the first year out of four.”

Duncan said that she had a gymnast lose more than two points on a routine during the first week because of slight mistakes, taking her score from 9.1 to less than 7.

She’s told her gymnasts they are essentially starting a point lower than last year.

“They won’t be able to slide in skill,” Duncan said. “They’ve got to have it, or else the scores will show it.”

Of the first week’s scores, Mead’s total of 158.5 was five points better than any other team’s, making it a threat to repeat as league champion.

Mead won the district and regional championships last year and followed that with a third-place finish in state, the best of any GSL team on the 4A level in six years.

Four of the seven Panthers who competed in the state tournament graduated, leaving Mead with less depth than last year and a reliance on more freshmen.

“We’re looking more at seven (varsity-level gymnasts),” Workman said. “Last year we had 12. We just have so many new girls, and they’re young and unpredictable. It’s tough for me to even tell how we’ll do in league.”

Mead returns juniors Ashley Dotson and Tonya Turner and a sophomore, Katie Green, from last year.

Dotson was all-league as an all-around gymnast and finished 11th all-around, seventh in the floor exercise and eighth in the vault at state last year.

Central Valley, U-Hi and Shadle Park should compete with Mead for the league title and the two berths the Eastern Region gets into the state tournament.

“I see four teams at the top that are severely close,” CV head coach Kim Brunelle said. “In talent, Mead’s got a little more. Our outlook is really good, and as long as the kids stay healthy we’ll be fine. We’ve got returning talent and, moreover, the desire. We have a group of kids who want it pretty bad.”

CV brings back two all-league gymnasts from last year, senior Maya Morgan and junior Maria Alderman. Morgan finished 12th all-around at state and seventh in vault.

Duncan said U-Hi expects to be in the top two at the end of the season, led by senior Kayla McGahey, who finished seventh all-around and fourth in bars at state.

“They have experience. We only have two (varsity gymnasts) who have not competed at the varsity level,” Duncan said. “They’ve got talent, and the kids are very close.”

Shadle returns only two of seven gymnasts who competed at the state tournament, but under head coach Stoyan Katzarski, the Highlanders have competed in the state tournament each of the last four years.