THE SPORTS DESK
Prep Gymnastics Notepad: Wildcats’ Graves makes an impressive début
Mountain View freshman Lauren Graves had quite a high school weekend invitational début Saturday.
Graves was first on vault and beam and third on bars and won the all-around in the single-division Bobcat Invitational at Battlefield High School.
Graves has experience as a club gymnast, but hadn’t competed the last few years.
“She’s been working very hard at practice to get old skills back,” Mountain View coach Dawn Dixon said, “and she’s gotten some new skills.
“She’s a polished performer and I think she will continue to impress as we go through the season.”
North Stafford’s girls scored 97.725 points and finished third behind winner Battlefield (101.475) and runner-up Osbourn Park (98.275).
North Stafford’s Siobhan Bernard—who won the all-around last week in the Commonwealth District’s first midweek meet—was second on vault and won the bars. She placed third in the all-around.
Sarabeth Brown had a third-place finish on vault for the Wolverines. Teammate Allie Hayman was seventh on beam.
For Mountain View, Naomi Cassell was eighth in the all-around and Kaylee Hendrickson was seventh on vault.
The Wildcats were fourth, just a hair behind North Stafford with 97.675 points.
That’s a good showing, especially with several lineup-filling gymnasts out with injuries. Dixon said she hopes the team will be back at full strength by mid-January.
—Justin Rice
