Shadle’s Norman cashes in at state

TACOMA – High school gymnastics is over this year for Shadle Park freshman phenom Alana Norman.

Softball awaits.

That’s how it is for the busy athlete who is involved in one sport or the other, both high school and club.

Norman completed a successful first State 3A meet Saturday in the Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall.

She finished second on the vault with 9.475 points, .05 out of first, and third on the balance beam at 9.375.

“(The effort was) OK coming in as a freshman,” Norman said. “I’m happier today because I maintained my score on beam and scored even higher on vault.”

During the team and all-around competition on Friday, she scored 9.4 and was fourth on beam and tied for sixth on vault with a 9.35.

Norman finished fifth all-around during her first state meet and expects to challenge for an outfield spot on the softball team when practice begins in March.

She has been a club gymnast since she was 6 years old, competing with Spokane Junior Gymnastics Academy, and is Level 9, as are many of the high-end competitors in western Washington. She plays softball with the Spokane Sliders select program, having begun at 12U.

“Both are part of my life,” she said. “I don’t know what I’d do without them.”

A club gymnast teammate, Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) freshman Anandae Egland, placed seventh in 3A floor exercise with a score of 9.4. Egland qualified for the event following a fourth-place tie Friday at 9.325.

In 4A, University’s Stacie Davis finished 10th, scoring 8.825 on uneven bars and 8.675 on beam.