Islanders second at KingCo championships, advance to districts | Prep gymnastics

Mercer Island placed second in each of the four events and boasted a winner on floor.

February 6, 2016 7:05 pm

The Mercer Island gymnastics team earned a spot in next week’s Sea-King district tournament, after placing second at the 2A/3A KingCo championships Saturday, Feb. 6 at Bellevue High School.

The Islanders were runners-up with a team score of 144.9. The 2A/3A KingCo league champion Lake Washington Kangs won with a score of 154.925.

Though falling short of the 150-point goal he had set for his team, Mercer Island coach Lenny Lewis said the important thing was that his team was moving on.

“I was hoping we’d be close, and I was hoping that we didn’t fall out of second,” Lewis said. “When I heard [we were] second, I was happy. We have another day to be in the gym, work on some things and possibly move on to state. If we want to move on to state, the team that beat us tonight is the team we’re going to have to beat at districts.”

The Islanders placed second in each of the four events and had one individual winner. Cece Belady earned the top spot on floor with a score of 9.375, while Stephanie Prince placed fifth (9). Two Islanders finished in the top 10 on bars, with Emily Culbertson fifth (7.225) and freshman Mya Levin sixth (7.2). Levin also placed 10th on vault (8.05), and Belady tied with Bellevue’s Stella Pratt for eighth on beam (7.65). Emily Culbertson was Mercer Island’s top all-around finisher, placing 10th (30.025).

Looking ahead, Lewis said his team would have to clean up some of their routines if they hoped to make it out of districts. The Mercer Island coach noticed some of his team members uncharacteristically struggling on floor, and acknowledged he sensed some nervousness among the girls. He said next week, he hopes to see the Islanders go bigger in the vault and bar events.

“I’m expecting better next week,” Lewis said. “But otherwise, we’re moving on. It’s a great day. We look forward to competing at districts, and we’ve got a good chance to make it if we just clean it up a little bit.”

Mercer Island finished the regular season second in the KingCo standings with a 5-1 record, its best record in recent years. The 2A/3A Sea-King district gymnastics championships will be Saturday, Feb. 13 at Ballard High School. Individual competition begins at 9:40 a.m., and teams will march in at 1 p.m.