Shadle Park’s Norman makes splash

TACOMA – If things continue like this, Alana Norman likely will have a permanent smile on her face. The Shadle Park freshman certainly was grinning from ear to ear on Friday night at the Tacoma Dome Convention Center.

Norman led the Highlanders in their return to the state gymnastics meet as a full team by finishing tied for fifth in the individual all-around at 36.65 points. She shared fifth with Union’s Dakota McMillan, 1.6 points behind state champion Jessica Magill of Prairie (38.25).

“It’s a good start for her,” Shadle coach Stoyan Katzarski said. “This is her first year on the team, and I think she’s got a lot of potential. If she continues to work hard, I see her getting better and better.”

Perhaps then, Shadle could become a Class 3A/2A meet fixture. The Highlanders finished fifth overall among the eight teams competing with 160.175 points.

“We’re very excited,” Katzarski said. “That was our highest score for the season. It’s hard to qualify as a team, because only one team goes. So you have to be the best team in the region.”

Columbia River won the 3A/2A team title with 169.15 points, just ahead of Auburn Mountainview at 168.475. Bainbridge was third at 168.35, followed by Mount Si at 165.075.

For Norman, her finish was unexpected.

“I’m very pleased,” Norman said. “I’ve been doing club for a couple of years, but didn’t know how I’d do at state. It was like an adrenaline rush.”

In addition to her higher-than-expectations finish in the all-around competition, Norman was the only 3A/2A competitor to qualify for any individual event finals that take place beginning at 12:20 p.m. today.

Norman will compete on the balance beam (9.4 qualifying score) and the vault (9.35).

4A

University sophomore Stacie Davis was battling illness as well as gymnastics apparatus during state gymnastics in the Exhibition Hall of the Tacoma Dome. She overcame all in qualifying today for the individual finals following a tie for 14th all-around in the 4A meet.

Davis is 10th in both uneven bars and balance beam when the individual competition begins at approximately 12:20 p.m. She scored 35.35 all-around with a 9.2 on beam and 8.775 on bars.

“She has been so sick she lost 8 pounds in three days,” Titans coach Tracy Duncan said of her tiny performer.

Davis said she was excited to be a top-10 performer, particularly overcoming a 103 degree temperature to advance.

A club gymnast for seven years, she’d been away three before getting back into it at U-Hi.

“My beam was pretty good,” Davis said. “I didn’t have any major mistakes – just a some bobbles here and there.”

Her bars performance, she said, was typical this season.

“I finally hit all my moves,” she said. “I hadn’t been hitting my handstands.”

Mead’s team finished fourth out of four 4A teams with a 163.775 score behind third-year winner Woodinville’s 182.975. No Mead competitor placed higher than 13th, Rachel Becker tied for the spot on beam.

“We did not end on a strong note,” Mead coach Laurie Chadwick said. “We were fairly solid on floor and we had a good vault set. Beam was not there. When you get here, the level is different.”