Lisa Sparrow won’t go so far as to call her Overland gymnastics team a major state championship contender in 2013, but she will allow the Trailblazers should be in the conversation.
Four of the top five gymnasts return from the Overland team — a co-op team of athletes from schools all around Aurora — that finished third at last season’s Class 5A state meet and should get a boost from some newcomers.
Seniors Ashlynn Graybill and Aimee St. Martin and juniors Kellyn Toole and Devin Bundas form the nucleus of a team that has the experience and improved skills to make a run at what could be the program’s third state championship in the past five seasons.
“This is a very, very, very talented team that has a stronger work ethic than the team we had last season,” said Sparrow, who enters her second season as head coach with former head coach Alan Herron assisting.
“They were not pleased with our finish last year at state and I think they would like to improve on that,” she added. “We’re looking to come together and if we do, I believe we should be in the (title) conversation.”
Defending state champion Broomfield, Cherry Creek, Mountain Range and Fort Collins also expect to contend in the 5A ranks, but Overland has the lineup to be right there at the Nov. 1-2 state meet at Thornton H.S.
Graybill led the team with an 11th-place finish in the all-around competition at state and qualified for three individual event finals, while Toole — a multi-sport athlete who runs and dives at Regis Jesuit — made it to two individual event finals and tied for fourth place in the floor exercise.
Bundas has been plagued by injuries in each of the past two seasons at the state meet — including broken toes that kept her out of the entire meet after she missed the individual event finals as a freshman — but has fought back yet again to rejoin the team and is “mentally determined” in Sparrow’s words.
St. Martin serves as a co-captain with Graybill and is a solid part of the line, while freshmen McKenna Turbyne and Madison Venegas should make up for the absence of last season’s freshman sensation, Kate Johnson, who didn’t return to the team.
Turbyne attends Lutheran High School and Venegas goes to Valor Christian, but neither school have their own gymnastics team, so the freshmen joined the Overland group they have trained with since they were young. With the two new additions, the co-op team now includes gymnasts from 11 different high schools.
Sparrow is particularly looking forward to seeing the progress of Turbyne, who she’s coached since she was 7 years old.
“McKenna looks like a gymnast; she’s little and fierce and has a very mature approach, attitude and work ethic,” Sparrow said. “She’s an incredible worker and she has a very bright future ahead.”
Overland’s first real measuring stick meet comes in its home gym on Sept. 21 with the Overland Invitational, which includes most, if not all, of 5A’s best teams.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel
2013 AURORA GYMNASTICS SEASON
Key dates: Aug. 29 — Regular season begins; Sept. 21 — Overland Invitational; Oct. 5 — Cherry Creek Invitational; Oct. 23-Oct. 25 — Regional meets (Sites: Cherry Creek H.S. (Oct. 23), Mountain Range H.S. (Oct. 24) & Arvada West H.S. (Oct. 25)); Nov. 1-2 — 4A/5A state meet (Thornton H.S.)
Aurora gymnasts to watch: Devin Bundas, Overland (Eaglecrest), jr.; Ashlynn Graybill, Overland (Cherokee Trail), sr.; Aimee St. Martin, Overland (Grandview), sr.; Kellyn Toole, Overland (Regis Jesuit), jr.; McKenna Turbyne, Overland (Lutheran), fr.; Madison Venegas, Overland (Valor Christian), fr.
