Gymnastics notepad: Hawks count on depth to contend

No, Brooke Point didn’t challenge for the Winterfest Invitational team title Saturday at Colonial Forge High School.

But just a glance at the scores shows how far the Black–Hawks have come.

Brooke Point scored 102.375 points and placed third in the upper Blue Division—more than nine points behind team champion Great Bridge. That’s their best team score at Winterfest since a third-place showing in 2007, when the Hawks scored 103.45.

Senior Dylana Wilhelm gives Brooke Point a top-notch all-arounder. But more importantly for a team finish, the Black–Hawks had a consistent scoring group on vault and floor that led to the third-place finish.

Alysia Gray scored at least an 8.0 on every event except the beam. Kayla Lyall had an 8.725 on beam and an 8.775 on floor. And Amber Petty had an 8.5 on vault and an 8.4 on floor.

Two teams from the Commonwealth District advance as a group to the Northwest Region competition, and Brooke Point should be in the mix for that spot. Stafford is the clear favorite to win the district team title, but Brooke Point, Mountain View, North Stafford and Colonial Forge all have a chance to be second.

That’s a far cry from where Brooke Point has been the last few seasons.

“Last year was really our first time coming together as a team,” Brooke Point coach Sarah Brown said. “This year they’re really close and they have worked hard individually and worked for each other.”

—Justin Rice

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