THORNTON | The Class 5A state gymnastics meet didn’t go quite as Overland might have liked it, but there were still plenty of positives through two days of competition at Thornton High School.
The Trailblazers — the 2011 5A state champions — had hoped to defend their state championship, but they ended up third after Friday’s team competition, a solid feat considering they lost sophomore standout Devin Bundas to several broken toes during warm-ups.
Broomfield ran away with the team competition with a score of 187.625 points — the highest team score at the 5A state meet since Cherry Creek’s 189.775 in 1998 — which was well in front of Fort Collins (183.850) and Overland (183.700). Coach Lisa Sparrow’s Trailblazers bettered their winning score of 183.350 last season and saw junior Ashlynn Graybill, sophomore Kellyn Toole and freshman Katie Johnson qualify for Saturday’s individual event finals as one of the top 16 scorers in each event.
Toole didn’t feel great about her performance on the first day, but performed well in her two events on the second day. She tied for fourth individually in the floor exercise with her score of 9.650, while she was sixth on the vault with a score of 9.625.
“The team competition definitely wasn’t my best day, I had a little bit of a struggle on bars and wasn’t as solid on beam, but I ended up qualifying for two events and redeeming myself,” Toole said. “Floor was pretty good. My last pass wasn’t exactly what it was supposed to be, but I covered it up pretty well.”
Johnson had a strong meet in her state debut and earned her way into the event finals on three of four events. The vault was strong for the freshman on both days and she finished with a fourth-place medal in the event with a finals score of 9.700. It was Johnson’s only trip to the medal stand, but she was eighth on the balance beam and 12th on the floor exercise.
Graybill was the top finisher by place for Overland in the all-around competition, matching Toole with a 37.400, but got 11th place and Toole 12th based on highest score. She also made three individual event finals, turning in her best performance on the balance beam in 7th.
All the regulars for Overland are expected to return next season — including Bundas, who missed last season’s event finals due to an ankle injury suffered in warm-ups — and make another run at a state title.
“We’re not really losing any competitors from our team, so we’re planning to come back strong next year with new skills and everything,” Toole said. “We’re going to be ready.”
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555