Islander gymnasts compete at district championships

Seven Mercer Island gymnasts competed at the 2A/3A Sea-King district championships Saturday, Feb. 14 at Ballard High School, with one Islander moving on to the state tournament.

Seven Mercer Island gymnasts competed at the 2A/3A Sea-King district championships Saturday, Feb. 14 at Ballard High School, with one Islander moving on to the state tournament.

Cece Belady placed in the top 11 of the floor competition to advance to next weekend’s state gymnastics meet. Belady tied for seventh on floor, placed 27th on beam and 49th on vault to finish 34th in all-around competition (24.225).

Rachel Hicks was 42nd in all-around (20.95), tying for 34th on vault, finishing 37th on bars and was 44th on floor.

The Islanders had two other gymnasts competing on floor, with Madeline Gile placing 31st and Jamie Vandrwall finishing 50th. On beam, Emily Menz finished 44th and Emily Greaves was 52nd. Competing on vault, Nikki Lim finished 43rd.

Sammamish’s Nkyaela Dodson was the top all-around finisher with a score of 37.45. Dodson won the beam competition and was second on vault, bars and floor.

Of the four teams competing, Holy Names edged Sammamish 166.4-162.025 to win the meet. Finishing in the top two, both teams advanced to the state tournament.

The 2015 state gymnastics meet will take place Feb. 20-21 at the Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall.