The South Puget Sound League South division may have come out on top at the SPSL sub-district gymnastics meet on Saturday at Kentwood High by capturing three of the top four spots in the team completion, but in the individual competition it was all about Kentlake’s Kayla Shira who snagged first place in the all-around with a 37.225 score.
Shira’s score helped Kentlake to a third-place team finish with 167.025.
“I am incredibly proud of them, but we’re still not satisfied,” Kentlake coach Marla Boyd said. “I know they can still do better. I feel like if we’re satisfied, we’re complacent. It’s not like they’re in trouble, I just feel like they can do better. They’re shooting for top-two next week (at districts) and to do that, we need to do some more work.”
Puyallup snagged first-place with a 171.175 score followed by Emerald Ridge at 168.60, Beamer at 166.950 and Auburn Riverside with 162.575.
Shira finished first on the bars with a 9.250, third on the beam with a 9.450 and fourth in the vault with a 9.0.
“Kayla did well and won the all-around,” Boyd said. “She is just a great all-around gymnast.”
In addition to her performance on the bars, beam and vault, Shira also wowed the crowd with her first-place floor exercise, earning a 9.525 score.
“She did a little more difficult tumbling than she has during the regular meets,” Boyd said. “She just knows how to play to the crowd. When she’s on she’s hard to beat.”
Puyallup’s Chelsey Haskey finished second in the all-around with a 36.50 with Kent-Meridian’s Nora Keith grabbing third with a 36.20 score. Keith was first in the vault with a 9.175 and finished fourth in the floor, fifth on beam and ninth on the bars.
The real surprise of the meet, however, was Tahoma’s Brianna McKenney’s fourth place all-around finish. McKenney finished second on the vault and the beam with scores of 9.10 and 9.475, respectively. She was fifth in the floor exercise and 11th on the bars.
McKenney’s finish, coupled with strong performances from teammates Kayla Kershner (12th all-around) and Hannah Stickney (tied for 18th all-around) helped drive the Bears to a sixth-place team finish with a 161.975.
For coach Laura Morceau, the win caps a breakthrough season for the Bears, who had the highest turnout in the history of the program this season.
“I am ecstatic,” Morceau said. “The girls did an amazing job. They flew, I can’t be prouder, they’re my girls. They work together really well. They get up for 5:30 a.m. practices before school. They are a great bunch of girls that just support each other really well. They did it.”
Although the morning practices can be brutal, McKenney said the results are more than worth the pain.
“Our morning practices are really, really early,” she said. “But they’re fun. And it definitely paid off.”
Now it’s back to the gym in preparation for Saturday’s District 3 meet at Auburn Mountainview High.
• ALSO: Kentwood’s Jamie Larsen grabbed seventh-place all-around with a 36.025 score. She was third on the vault with a 9.025, sixth on the bars and the floor exercise with a 8.675 and 9.225, respectively, and ninth on beam with a 9.10…. Kentwood coach Ann Diaz was awarded the SPSL 4A Division coach of the year award at the meet…. This season’s SPSL 4A Division sportsmanship award went to Kent-Meridian.
Team scores
1. Puyallup, 171.175; 2. Emerald Ridge, 168.60; 3. Kentlake, 167.025; 4. Beamer, 166.950; 5, Auburn Riverside, 162.575; 6, Tahoma, 161.975; 7, Olympia, 158.150; 8. Jefferson, 154.950; 9. Kentwood, 153.00; 10, Auburn, 146.950; 11, Kent-Meridian, 145.300; 12, Decatur, 139.975; 13, Kentridge, 138.425; 14, Federal Way, 135.950; 15, Rogers, 128.100.
All-Around: 1, Kayla Shira, KL, 37.225; 2, Chelsey Haskey, P, 36.50; 3, Nora Keith, KM, 36.20; 4, Brianna McKenney, T, 36.10; 5, Rebecca Turnbow, AR, 36.075; 6, Whitney Sidor, ER, 36.050; 7, Jamie Larsen, KW, 36.025; 8, Brianna Howe, ER, 35.80; 9, Cassie Peterson, B, 35.250; 10, Katie Bubnich, P, 34.70. Vault: 1, Keith, 9.175; 2, McKenney, 9.10; 3, Larsen, 9.025. Bars: Shira, 9.25; 2, Turnbow, 9.225; 3, Haskey, 9.00. Beam: 1, Haskey, 9.025; 2, McKenney, 9.475; 3, Shira, 9.45. Floor: 1, Shira, 9.525; 2, Peterson, 9.450; 3, Howe, 9.425.
