By AARON MANAGHAN
Sports editor
The Olympic Gymnastics Center continues to reach new heights.
Last weekend at the Great West GymFest in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, OGC’s Level 7 team set a new club record for team points with 113.15, good for third place at the meet behind teams from Arizona and Oregon.
“We had a pretty good meet,” OGC coach Greg Mutchler said. “That was our highest team score for any of our levels.”
10-year-old Taylor Finney led the OGC Level 7 effort with an all-around score of 37.75, good for second place overall, setting a new personal best. She won the floor event with a 9.60 while taking second places in both the beam (9.30) and the bars (9.525). Finney added a third-place mark in the vault (9.325).
But she wasn’t the only contributor.
Tara Black had two first-place marks in the 13-year-old age group, winning the vault (9.60) and the beam (9.40). She also took a second-place finish with a 9.575 on the floor. Fellow 13-year-old Katie Baretela was second all-around with a score of 37.30 thanks to a win on the bars with a 9.475. She also was third in the vault (9.425) and fourth in both the beam and floor routines.
Lucy Dougall (fifth all-round; 36.00), Ladiah Daves (fifth in vault), Kayleigh Johnson (sixth all-around, third in beam), MaryJane Thompson (fourth in vault) and Hannah Everman also competed for the Level 7 team.
The team was third by less than point overall and could have won if not for recent illness.
“Something is going on,” Mutchler said. “It’s hit a few kids.”
That included Mara Ong, one of Level 7’s top gymnasts.
The Level 5 team had a good outing as well, finishing fifth overall with a score of 106.55. 8-year-old Nicole Hansen was second all-around in her age range with a 36.05, taking second in the vault (8.90), beam (8.885) and floor (9.00) routines. 7-year-old Aliyah Cabrera also was second all-around, taking second in the bars (9.225) and floor (8.775) while finishing third in the vault (8.75) and beam (8.70).
Bailey Menear (fifth all-around), Samantha Wallace (fifth in beam), Pearl Freckleton (sixth in beam) and Danessa Blandford (fifth in bars) also competed for Level 5.
“The kids are working hard. They’re starting to score,” Mutchler said. “We’ve got some really young kids. That’s what I want.”
The team is in Beaverton, Ore., this weekend with state less than a month out.
“The girls are peaking at the right time,” Mutchler said.
