WA Girls’ Gymnastics had a close meet against Newton-South on Thursday January 18 at 4 p.m. , with some high scoring routines and gymnasts. Scoring an overall 131.15 to Newton-South’s 134.75, WA lost the third meet of the season. They tied with their overall score from their last meet on January 8th, also a 131.15. Some events went smoother than others, but overall the girls performed strongly.

Senior captains Jelina Farrell and Hannah Wang were the high scorers of the night, competing on all four events, the vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor, leading the team. Other high scorers included sophomore Jessica Gould and freshman Grace Keele, both scoring high eights on their individual events.

WA started the meet off on the vault. The best performances were from Gould and freshman Evelyn Miller who both competed half on, half offs and scored 8.4’s. Wang also executed a clean half on, half off and stuck her landing, scoring an 8.6 for WA.

The second event, the uneven bars, was the weakest of the four for WA. Senior Hannah Kettering scored a 7.4 with a clean routine and a stuck layout dismount. Gould also had a strong routine, with a 7.7. Farrell scored the highest with an 8.2, performing a beautiful routine despite moving slightly on her landing.

The beam was the team’s best event, with Farrell receiving an 8.8, the highest score of the night. Her routine (as videoed) was graceful and cohesive, despite a minor fall. She beautifully stuck a double back handspring and a cartwheel back layout dismount. Wang also had a clean yet strong routine, scoring an 8.7 with a back handspring and double cartwheel.

Farrell again earned the highest score of the WA girls on floor, with an 8.7. Impressive skills of hers included a full, front handspring front layout, and double back handspring back tuck. Keele also scored high with an 8.6, and Gould came in third for WA with an 8.1.

Having a strong night overall, the WA gymnasts performed well, especially on the beam and floor. Farrell led the team as a captain and gymnast. Although Newton-South won the overall by 3.6 points, WA had some impressive performances.  

“I think the meet went well, considering Newton South has a really good gymnastics team. It was going to be a close competition either way,” Gould said.