Mead’s Zella Conley has potential to soar

Zella Conley was recounting the numerous injuries she’s had in gymnastics.

She stopped after listing a handful. The Mead sophomore’s body has taken a toll.

Most of the injuries occurred during 10 years in club.

She quit club last year after breaking her foot in a non-gymnastics injury.

Conley considered staying in club because she thought the sport would provide a scholarship to college. The year-round commitment – which included five practices a week at five hours each – caused her to burn out.

She returned to gymnastics this year, turning out for her high school team.

“I wanted to try something different,” Conley said. “It was hard to balance school with all the practice in club.”

Conley is having a noteworthy first season at Mead.

She finished Greater Spokane League meets ranked No. 1 in all-around – the combination of the scores from floor exercise, balance beam, uneven bars and vault.

Last year, Mead’s Jenna Schlosser won the State 4A all-around title and individual titles in bars and vault.

Schlosser graduated with school records in all-around (38.1), vault (9.725) and bars (9.55).

In time, Conley wants to match Schlosser’s titles and more including re-writing Mead’s records.

Conley ranks third all-time in all-around (37.275), second in vault (9.625), tied for fourth in bars (9.25), tied for fourth in beam (9.6; school record 9.65) and tied for second in floor (9.7; 9.75).

“She’s within reach of all of the records,” coach Laurie Chadwick said. “She could break all of them before she’s done. She doesn’t have a weak event.”

The key is staying healthy.

She’s had two injuries this season. In a season-opening meet, she hyperextended a knee when she was doing an aerial cartwheel dismounting from the beam.

And she dislocated an elbow in practice last month dismounting from the bars. It’s an injury that continues to nag her.

She tried to brace her fall with her arm but the elbow popped out of place.

“In this sport you do a lot of reps and the pounding takes a toll on the body,” Conley said.

Conley got her start in gymnastics at age five because her parents were looking for something to take an edge off her hyperactivity.

She took to it fast. She reached Level 9 with one level left for her age before she quit last year.

Schlosser was a club participant before switching to high school her junior year. Two years later, she established herself as the best in the state.

Conley hopes to have a quicker trajectory.

“She will probably win everything at state some day if she gets all the little things cleaned up,” Chadwick said.

“She is unbelievably talented,” University coach Tracy Duncan said. “Once she gets the maturity of a senior and understands high school gymnastics, she’ll be the No. 1 girl in the state.”

Conley’s routine in beam includes one of the greatest degrees of difficulty among her peers.

“There are no more skill additions I can make on the beam but there are things I can do to eliminate some bobbles – things that would cost me tenths of a point in deductions,” Conley said.

On the bars, Conley said she can clean up her handstands. She can tighten up her skills in the floor along with her tumbling and landings. On the vault, she can straighten out her chest while trying to stick landings better.

“If you’re leaning forward on your landing, you could lose up to three-tenths of a point or lose a tenth if you take a step after hitting the ground,” Conley said. “There are some things I can fix. It’s form stuff mostly.”

She’s one of 11 children, all adopted, of Scott and Kelly Conley. She has two siblings from Ethiopia, three from China, another from Texas and another from San Francisco.

Conley, who is from Tampa, Florida, was adopted at birth. She has met her birth mom.

Track has replaced gymnastics as her favorite sport, specifically the high and low hurdles. She broke Mead’s school record last year in the 100 hurdles (14.91).

“I want track to pay for college,” she said.

The tumbling and jumping experiences from gymnastics have helped her develop a successful form for hurdles.

Chadwick said the same athleticism and strength that is the foundation for her success in gymnastics also serves her well doing the hurdles.

“She’s very mentally tough,” Chadwick said. “She’s extremely powerful and that makes her a good gymnast. She’s tough, she’s had to deal with injuries. But she doesn’t let it get in the way of what she can do.”