State 3A/2A gymnastics: Shadle Park’s Brooklynn Tarr, Mt. Spokane’s team highlight local efforts

TACOMA – It was a fun debut for Brooklynn Tarr of Shadle Park, a challenging yet redemptive finale for senior Reigan Kampmann of Mt. Spokane.

In Thursday night’s State 3A/2A gymnastics meet, Tarr placed fourth in the all-around competition with a score of 36.75 points while Mt. Spokane, making its first state appearance, finished fourth in an eight-team field at the Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall.

Holy Names of Seattle won the team title with a score of 176.725, ending a three-year championship run by Kamiakin, which finished second (173.825). Lake Washington (172.05), Mt. Spokane (165.725) and Columbia River (159.875) rounded out the top five.

Freshman Sydney Griswold of Sammamish (Bellevue) won the all-around crown with a score of 37.975, followed by Elena Fowler of Holy Names (37.8) and freshman Audrey Arnold of Lake Washington (37.225). Individual event finals are at 11 a.m. Friday.

Tarr, a former Level 9 club gymnast competing at the high school level for the first time, posted the meet’s second-highest score on balance beam (9.4). She also placed fourth on uneven bars (9.25).

“Beam was probably my best event tonight,” said Tarr, noting that she was particularly pleased with her back handspring back layout. “I nailed that. Didn’t fall at all. Bars and vault (9.175, ninth place) went really well, too. I just did my best.”

Tarr echoed the sentiments of other club refugees at the state meet, expressing a fondness for the team-centric vibe and less rigorous demands of high school gymnastics.

“It’s pretty awesome,” she said. “It’s a lot different, way more chilled. I’d recommend it.”

Mt. Spokane coach Dana Hunt said her team did not have its best outing (the squad put up a score of 170.275 at its state-qualifying district meet last weekend) but admired her lineup’s grit.

“We started weak and ended strong,” Hunt said.

Hunt said Kampmann, who finished 11th in last year’s 3A/2A all-around, had a tough night.

“She had a really rough start on her first two events, bars and beam,” Hunt said. “Those are two of her best events, and it just didn’t happen for her. She had an emotional day, let’s just put it that way.

“But she pulled through, and I’m real proud of her. She was feeling some frustration and anger, and she turned that into something positive at the end. It was a good life lesson.”

Kampmann conceded her night could have gone better.

“I wasn’t feeling that great this morning and it kind of carried on into the start of the meet,” she said. “But I was able to tough it out and finish strong.”

After recording a 7.35 on bars and 8.25 on beam, Kampmann rallied to post 9.05 on vault and a fifth-place 9.475 on floor, scores that qualified her in those events in Friday’s individual finals.

What turned things around?

“A couple of pep talks,” she said, nodding toward Hunt, who laughed. “I thought, you know, this is the last time. I’ve got to make it count.”

Hunt was involved in the pep talks.

“She put her emotional sickness, teenage emotions, on the back burner, and instead of letting that beat her, she beat it, and we’re very proud of her.”

“I wanted to do it for the team,” Kampmann said.

Hunt credited Kampmann and other seniors as the reason Mt. Spokane finally reached state as a team. The others: Rylee Anderson, Marisol Delcid, Sarah Knowles and Brooke Fraser.