Gymnastics repeat a tall order for Blake

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Gymnastics repeat a tall order for Blake

B-CC and Walter Johnson should also contend for county’s top spot

by James Peters | Staff Writer

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Blake has ruled the county gymnastics scene the past two years, capturing both the county and state championship meets each season under the direction of the program’s only coach, Laura Parsons, the 2006 Gazette Coach of the Year.

A three-peat at both meets this season could be a whole lot tougher, however, as Parsons graduated three solid gymnasts, including Julie Tucker, from last year’s squad. The Bengals are also without the services of Danae Johnson, the 2006 Gazette Gymnast of the Year, who decided not to return this season. Johnson won the county all-around title with a score of 36.75 and then the state all-around crown with a 37.7.

‘‘A lot of [my gymnasts are inexperienced so we’ll have to wait and see how the season plays out,” Parsons said. ‘‘We do have some girls returning from last year who are taking classes so we have to kind of wait and see.”

The cupboard isn’t completely bare, however, with the return of All-Gazette gymnast Nicole Williams, who placed second in the county and state all-around competitions with respective scores of 36.53 and 37.425. Parsons also picked up freshman Laura Treacy, a competitive gymnast who works out of Fairland Gymnastics.

Blake’s overall inexperience should open the door for Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Walter Johnson, who return more than enough talent to challenge for county and state titles this season.

Junior Katie Pelton, an All-Gazette performer in2006, returns to guide a deep Barons squad that also features seniors all-around gymnasts Anne Sherman and Justina Pfister and sophomore Lara McGill, who will compete on the floor exercise and vault.

‘‘We had a great team last year and this year, we’ve added seven very talented freshmen,” B-CC coach Dana Creager said. ‘‘We should have a very good season.”

That talented freshman class includes all-around gymnasts Ebony Walter, Stephanie Golob, Abbie Klein and Lydia Marks.

Walter Johnson coach Jill Neustadt, a former coach at Lakeside High in Atlanta, Ga., returns the county’s best combination in senior Dana Simms and junior Claire Miller. The pair of All-Gazette performers helped the Wildcats grab second at both the county and state meets a year ago.

Miller took fourth place in the all-around at the county meet (35.85) and finished third at the state meet with a score of 37.0. Simms scored a 34.95 in the all-around competition at the county meet.

Junior Aly Irvine, a returning competitor, and sophomore Jennifer Roche, the team’s top newcomer, who will also compete in the all-around, join them.

‘‘I’m hoping that we can do at least as well as last year, if not better,” Neustadt said.

Second-year Blair coach Veronica Joice hopes to see her squad improve on last year’s fifth-place finish at the county meet and she’ll look to returnees Nicole Poor (senior), Nazanin Yousefnejad (junior), Anna Hadfield (sophomore) and Abby Cember (sophomore) to lead the way.

Poor and Yousefnejad are the team’s captains. Poor, Hadfield and Cember will compete in the all-around while Yousefnejad will focus on the floor exercise, vault and balance beam. They’re joined by newcomers Yana Schick (senior, floor exercise), Corinne Ducey (sophomore, floor⁄beam), Korie Ferguson (sophomore, floor⁄bars), Jillian Granados (sophomore, vault) and Lily Felsenthal (freshman, balance beam).

‘‘I’m excited about our team, and while we still don’t have the depth some other schools are known to have, our goals are to move up at least one place overall as far as county rank and to have a really great time during the season,” Joice said.

Like Blake, Sherwood enters the season without its top gymnast from a year ago in All-Gazette performer Alexa Banda, who won the vault competition (9.0) at counties and placed third in the all-around at counties (36.13) and fourth at states (36.625).

Banda tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee in December and will miss the 2007 campaign. ‘‘All she’s doing is helping out when she can and teaching some skills that she can do,” long-time Warriors coach Gary Peters said.

With Banda sidelined, Peters will look for points from returnees Jessica Godbout, Lindsay Thomas, Nikki Espinoza and Laura Portilla and top newcomers Elizabeth Bofill, Lindsey Morrison and Jenna Amon. Bofill is a Level 10 gymnast and Amon is a Level 9 gymnast. Level 10 is the first level in the Junior Olympic program.

Godbout returns from an injured ACL injury from a year ago. She’ll likely compete in three events this year as will Espinoza.

Holly Uhlenhake is Springbrook’s third coach in three years. She inherits a team that finished last at the 2006 county meet but that does have a solid duo in freshman Hanna Brand and junior Melissa Corado, the team’s top two all-around performers.

‘‘I coach a club team in the area [Silver Stars] and I’m well aware of the other teams,” said Uhlenhake, who coached high school gymnastics in Ohio before heading to Montgomery County. ‘‘Some of my club girls go to Blake, Blair and Walter Johnson so I have a pretty good idea what those teams are going to be like. We don’t have the depth Blake has or B-CC has but I think that for us, our top two girls have a chance to compete.

‘‘Our goal is to learn something and hopefully we’ll do that well as a team at the end.”

Gaithersburg will have a new coach in Tammy Spurr, who inherits a young squad that returns just three veterans in tri-captains Yihanna Ritter, Kelly Stevens and Liz Bedell. Ritter is a Level 9 gymnast at Preston Gymnastics and placed sixth in the all-around competition at last year’s county meet. Bedell is a Level 8 gymnast at Preston Gymnastics.

‘‘We have lots of young gymnasts on the team and only three returning gymnasts,” Spurr said. ‘‘As a first-year coach, I will be growing with these gymnasts and hoping they learn a lot this season. We are looking forward to making major improvements and growing as a team.”

Fast facts

Bethesda-Chevy Chase Barons

Head coach: Dana Creager, 8th year

Last year’s county finish: 3rd

Gymnasts to watch: Anna Sherman (Sr.), Justina Pfister (Sr.), Katie Pelton (Jr.)

Blair Blazers

Head coach: Veronica Joice, 2nd year

Last year’s county finish: 5th

Gymnasts to watch: Nicole Poor (Sr.), Nazanin Yousefnejad (Jr.), Anna Hadfield (Soph.)

Blake Bengals

Head coach: Laura Parsons, 5th year

Last year’s county finish: 1st