Level 7 Regionals . . . from Zi's perspective

Zi had to write a narrative for school.  She chose to write about her first Regional experience.  I love to see her take on the whole experience.

Chandler, Arizona

“Is there anything else we need?” I asked my mom excitedly. I had made a list of what I needed for Arizona, but I wasn’t sure I had remembered to round everything up.

“No, we have everything.” my mom assured me.

We were headed to the Sacramento Airport, where I would meet up with the rest of my team, and fly down to Arizona for my Level 7 Regional gymnastics competition. I had qualified for this meet in the previous month at the Jackson Sports Academy in Roseville, California.

After we finished zipping up our suitcase and grabbed our carry-on bags, we headed to the car, and we were on our way.

I could barely contain my excitement! I was going to regionals, and I was flying for only the second time in my life, and the first time I would remember it; I was 11 years old this time, instead of 3 months old.

When we arrived at the airport, my dad and sister said goodbye to us, and I walked inside. It amazed me, and I couldn’t stop staring at all the different features -- the escalators, all of the people, and the baggage. My mom took me over to the kiosk that would print out our boarding passes, when I looked behind me to my right.

“There they are!” I exclaimed.

“Who?” my mom asked me curiously.

“It’s Keira and Sam!” I replied running over to them. I was so happy to see them and start my journey.

After we talked, we headed to security. My mom told me what to get out of my bag, and where to put it on the conveyor belt. It was so confusing to me, but everything worked out in the end.

“What should we have for lunch?” I said to my mom.

“Well, let’s take a look around.” she told me.

There was a pizza place where my teammates ate, but instead, I got an enormous chocolate chip cookie from a coffee shop; just to my liking.

We all sat down and ate and charged our electronics. By now, my teammate Tessa had joined us. She wouldn’t be competing, because she fractured her foot just three practices before, but she still came along for the ride.

We found our seats, and when the plane sped up to take off, I gasped and thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest. I squeezed my mom’s hand tightly, and she smiled at me reassuringly as we took off.

I quickly adjusted to the flight and started taking funny videos and selfies. I watched a movie and played on my Nintendo 3DS, and talked and laughed. I couldn’t control my excitement and anticipation!

When we landed at the airport in Phoenix, Arizona, my eyes lit up. I was the furthest away from home I had ever been. The plane was so much fun! I enjoyed every bit of it.

We had an Uber driver take us to our hotel in Chandler. I went to hang out with one of my coaches, Abby, as we got ready to go to dinner.

Another Uber driver took us to PJ’s restaurant, where we met up with Keira, Sam, and my other coach, Tristan. I ate macaroni and cheese, and for dessert, I got a double chocolate Ghirardelli pizookie, a pizza cookie with ice cream on top. It was delicious, but I was very full!

I said goodbye to everyone, and went back to our hotel. When I got there, I went to bed right away. I was tired, and wanted a good night’s sleep for the big day.

In my bed, I woke up, ready for a fantastic day. My mom went with me to the lobby to eat breakfast. I got my favorite meet day meal -- belgian waffles with syrup, two hard-boiled eggs, and a glass of orange juice. Tristan joined us at our small table while we ate, and Abby came soon after that. We all had little conversations that made us laugh; it was a lot of fun.

After we said goodbye to Tristan and Abby, I went back to my hotel room. I was exhausted! I still had several hours before my meet, so I decided to take a nap. I turned out the lights, closed the curtains, and turned the TV on very quietly. It took a long time for me to drift off, but once I did, I was sound asleep.

I woke up to the quiet and still room. I drew back the curtains to let some light in, and switched on the lamp. I was still tired, but I felt very refreshed. My mom came with me to the lobby again, where they sold food and beverage items. I got a mini Digiorno pizza and a Dr. Pepper for lunch.

Turquoise glitter, stars, gel, and hairspray were glued in my hair, along with my braids and bun. I put my leotard and warm-ups on proudly and packed my backpack; I was competition-ready.

It was the big day, and when I walked into the huge, western themed building, there were stars in my eyes. I was at my first regional competition! I was so ecstatic to compete! I met up with my Level 6 teammate, Keoana, who would be competing in the same session, but at the opposite side of the building. We took pictures and encouraged each other, then went to our separate sides of the gym to warm up.

Tristan had me go through my normal competition warm-up and stretch, but it was so crowded that it was hard to move around without hitting someone! I was a little nervous, and my shoulder was hurting, but Tristan and I both knew that I was going to do great.

My first event was bars, an event that I always had fun on at practice throughout the season.

“Are you ready?” Tristan asked me.

“Yeah, I think I am!” I told him.

Bars warm-up went very well. When it was my turn to compete, I stepped up, saluted the judges, and started my routine. I almost arched off of the bar on one of my skills, but I saved it! When I landed my dismount and saluted the judges, Tristan gave me a high-five, and I smiled. I was happy with how my routine went. It was a great start to my meet.

The next event was beam, which went well too! I didn’t connect one of my skill series, which put my starting value from a 10.0 to a 9.500. However, I still pulled off an 8.900 for my routine! I wasn’t upset at all!

My second to last event was floor, my favorite event. This was it! I got to show the judges who I was through dancing, emotion, and my skills!

I saluted the judges, and stepped onto the floor. I could feel the adrenaline running through my body as my music began. I tried to make every movement either sharp or graceful, according to my music. I stuck my double turn and smiled widely. I performed my first tumbling pass and my back layout felt so high in the air -- it was amazing! At every moment I could, I would smile and make eye contact with the judges. My leap pass felt great, and even though I wasn’t facing the judges, I smiled for the people watching me. The beat right before my second tumbling pass hit, and I took a deep breath. I did my front-handspring into a front tuck, and it felt better than usual. I smiled and finished my dance off strongly and gracefully. I struck my ending pose with the music, stood up, and saluted the judges.

When I walked off the floor, I was all smiles. Tristan gave me a double high-five, and told me it was a really good routine. I waited anxiously for my score to show up, still only a few feet away from the floor. My score flashed up on the scoreboard, and I started shaking. I got a 9.700! That was not only my highest score on floor, it was my highest score on any event of my whole life! And it was at regionals! Tristan gave me a huge hug as I was crying tears of joy. This was such a huge accomplishment for me!

I walked over to get some water with my knees still shaking. I gave my mom a smile from ear to ear, and she signaled me two thumbs up and her “I’m so proud of you!” face. This was one of the best moments of my life!

My final event was vault. I finished the meet off with it, scoring a 9.400. It was not one of my highest-scoring vaults, but it was one I was very happy with.

I took a few selfies with Tristan and ran over to my mom to give her a hug as we headed outside for awards.

I had placed on both bars and vault with medals I am glad to have earned. But on floor, I earned a gold medal! I was the Level 7 Regional floor champion! I was so proud of myself and Keoana, who managed to be the Level 6 Regional champion for all of the events combined.

Tristan, Abby, and my mom decided to go out to a celebratory dinner. We went to The Old Spaghetti Factory! Whenever we travel I ask to go there -- the food is so delicious!

“Would you like anything for dessert?” the waitress asked me when I was done with my dinner.

“Yes, please!” I told her. I was so full from my dinner, though, I don’t know why i said yes.

“What would you like?” she asked me.

“A scoop of spumoni ice cream, please!” I responded.

The ice cream was so good, but I was 100% stuffed! My stomach even started hurting on the way to the hotel!

I went to bed right away after I said goodbye to Tristan and Abby because my flight home was the next morning at 6:45.

When I woke up, I quickly packed everything away. I got a hot cocoa and a cheese danish for breakfast at the airport.

I was tired on the flight, but it was still very fun, and I took multiple pictures out the window.

I found my dad and sister at the airport and gave them a big hug. They were proud of me, and I was proud of myself. I was also very happy to be back in California, and I was ready for the drive back to Redding.

When I got home, I felt warm inside, happy to have had this experience. If I had only known that I would be going to Kansas less than a year later...

L7 Judge's Cup Qualifier (12/9/18)

At the beginning of the summer, even though decisions had not yet been made about what level everyone would be competing, Z's coach asked if the girls wanted to attend the Judge's Cup Qualifier again.  He said they had more experience, and could use it as a means to get the jitters out for the season.  Several of the girls said that they would like to do it and as a result we registered seven girls, but only five ended up going.

Throughout the summer, the girls were all working on up-skills, had testing for their levels and we knew that Z would be competing level 8 for the 2019 season.  We had a mock meet on November 30th, and Z actually outscored all her teammates on all events except vault--and this included bars where she did not do her dismount.  Sometime after Regionals, Z got a mental block against doing her flyaway.  No matter what we and her coach would do, she just couldn't get herself to do it.  As a result, we knew that she would never qualify for the state team at the qualifier.  I told her that it was not a big deal and that this would just be a way to get her jitters out.  I also pointed out that it was being held at a gym we had never competed at before and was the same gym that our final meet of the season will be held.

Interestingly, on Tuesday before the meet, Z decided to start working her flyaway again.  I watched her do it on Wednesday with a heavy spot from her coach on the large mat stack.  On Thursday, the coach told her dad that she would be doing the flyaway at the meet.  I still wasn't sure, but on Friday I was told that she had done it with a spot from the ground.  A huge improvement in four days.

The day of the qualifier, we got up and got ready.  The gym was three hours away and she was had to be there by 2:00pm.  This year they held the qualifier differently.  Instead of one big session, they broke the meet into two sessions with two age groups for each session.  This way, the girls were able to get more awards, but it was harder to tell your position since you had to look through all four sessions to see the all around scores.  Again, only the top six and one alternate were named to the state team and would represent in Kansas at the National Judge's Cup.

We started on beam and Z was the third on her team to go.  Both girls before her fell, so I was a little concerned.  Z has a habit of doing what those before her do, but not this time.  She didn't fall and other than a fairly big wobble after her full turn, she looked pretty solid.  She scored a 9.175, which was the highest out of her team and got her fourth place.

On floor, she was the fourth out of our team to go.  Her routine looked great.  She remembered to breathe and scored a 9.475.  Again, this was the highest on her team and ended up getting her first place.

At this point, Z's dad called and asked how things were doing.  With two events done, Z was in first place in both events and all around.  I reminded him, joking, that if she did well enough, she was going to Kansas.  He had forgotten, but said it didn't matter and not to put pressure on her.  I can't talk to her during meets and her coach had told the girls to just have fun at the meet, not to let it bother them and to actually not even look at their scores.  I don't know if she was or not, but I definitely was watching.

Vault was next.  This year the level 7 vaults are weird because they are timers and you land on a large mat, not on the floor.  Z scored an 8.825, which we thought was low, but turns out was one of the higher scores of the day.  In fact it took first place in her session.  Her coach said the judges are all learning how to judge the timers. 

While Z was on vault another girl outscored her on beam and turned in a huge 9.800 on bars.  At this point, knowing her difficulty with bars and her dismount, I knew everything was basically over for her.

Z got up on bars--again the fourth on her team.  Two of her teammates fell before her, and again, I thought that was it.  But no, my girl wasn't going to let that bother her anymore.  She turned out a beautiful routine and scored a 9.600-which ended up being 2nd place. 

Overall, she scored a 37.075 and was second place in her session. 

After her bar score, I started looking at the all around scores from the morning session and there were only four that were a 37.000 or above.  I knew the girl who had the 9.800 on bars had over a 37, which meant that it was very possible that Z was part of the state team.  As I was getting ready to text her coach to see if we were going to Kansas, I saw him looking for me.  I ran over to him and he told me that Z was the alternate, but that she would still be going to Kansas.  He said he didn't tell her and didn't want me to say anything.  I quickly texted her dad and let him know and he was freaking out as much as I was.

After the awards were handed out, they announced the state team.  Turns out her coach lied to me--she wasn't the alternate, but was actually one of the top six!  He said he wanted me to be surprised.  :)  While they were announcing the team our girls were apparently discussing whether they should all go out for dinner.  An assistant coach suggested that they should pay attention and respect those who made the team--two people before they called Z's name.  :)

We had to stay for awhile after filling out forms and getting sized for the team leo and warm ups, but one of her teammates stayed to go to dinner and celebrate with us.  We ended up getting pizza with her teammate and coaches. 

The whole day was so weird and I still can't believe it happened--but I guess I better believe because in 36 hours we will be on a plane to Kansas!

Level 7 Regionals 2018

So this one deserved a post all its own.  This was a big deal--the first time Z was going to Regionals and the first time that she could remember going on an airplane.  Because the meet was the same weekend as her sister's Junior Prom, this was going to be a very fast trip.

Our flight left on Thursday, since Z was competing on Friday.  I had arranged the flight so that she was on the same plane as three of her teammates and her coaches--with our seats together with the two coaches.  Dad drove us to the airport, with her coach, and we met up with the rest of the girls.  We had taken great care to make sure that our carryon was all airline friendly, nothing over 3 ounces, etc.  One of her teammates and her sister weren't so smart--or I guess maybe they weren't smart to change from checking their luggage to carrying it on.  All the full size Bath & Body Works stuff got tossed.  :(

Once we landed in Arizona, we took a quick uber to the hotel and got everything unpacked.  I had a client in town and met up with her for a short time.  Z stayed with her coaches and then we all met up for dinner.  We did not stay out too late, knowing that we were competing on Friday.

Friday we met for breakfast in the hotel.  Then it was a matter of killing time since Z didn't compete until 4.  I was able to get her to take a short nap, then lunch, shower and hair.  We met the coaches downstairs and one of her coaches added the glitter to her hair and we were off!

Since this was Regionals for Level 6 and 7, we had a level 6 teammate competing at the same time (the reason both coaches came with us).  But for Z, she was all alone with her coach.  The rest of her teammates were competing on Saturday.  I had hoped that some of them would have come to watch, but no one did. 

Z started on bars.  After States, I was a bit nervous.  But she killed it, scoring a 9.375.  There was even one person behind me who said that Z had a great save on her giants/handstands.  Unfortunately, I hit the wrong button on my phone (had just gotten a new phone the day before we left) and didn't record the routine.  Her dad won't let me live that down.

Beam was next.  I thought her beam routine looked good--a few little wobbled, but not much.  She scored an 8.800, which her coach said was in part due to the judges reducing her start value.  They felt that she did not connect her back walk overs, but to me they were more fluid and together than any others. 

Then came floor.  And boy did it come!  I was watching and recording and just loving her routine.  She had her flashy smile and I almost cried watching her.  I really wish that I had my phone recording when her score was posted because the hug between her and her coach was awesome.  She scored a 9.700--and wound up being the Regional Floor Champ!

Finally, we had vault and she was one of the very last to compete.  She scored a 9.400, which was good, but still 14th place.  Ultimately, she wound up with 5th on bars and 8th on all around with a 37.275.

After getting awards, t-shirts and packing things up at the venue, we headed to Spaghetti Factory for dinner.  It was nice being at dinner with just the coaches and we enjoyed discussing the meet and basking in her Regional win!

In order to make it back in time to help with her sister's prom, we were at the airport by 5:30 the next morning.  Dad and sis picked us up at the airport and we headed back home (still a 2 1/2 hour drive).

Several hours later, after getting sissy off to the prom, I took Z to the mall where she cut her hair from her tush to above her shoulders--the goal is that it will grow by next season--and got her ears double-pierced.  Two things she had been wanting to do since early in the season.

All in all, this was a very successful season!

Balance of Level 7 Season . . .

Wildflower Invitational:

This is a meet that is held closest to our home and in a great facility.  The viewing area is raised all around the competition floor.  You always have a good seat!  Or, if you are like me, you can pace during the whole meet and still watch.  The other nice thing about this gym is that two of Z's old teammates are there and we are able to see them and their families.  One is also a level 7, so again they get to compete against each other.

We started on beam, which has started to be Z's favorite event to begin with.  She had one of her most solid routines that I've seen in awhile.  She ended up scoring a 9.350 and took 4th place.

Floor was, as usual, strong.  :)  She scored a 9.525 which was enough to tie for 2nd place.

Vault and bars were fine with a 9.375 (3rd place)  and a 9.250 (5th place) respectively.  All around was a 37.500 for 3rd place.

The team again took first place.  Four meets in a row!

Spirit of the Flame:

This is another meet that Z likes--primarily because they get a leo instead of a t-shirt!  I like it because it is near where we used to live and I can go see people and check out the changes in the area.

The meet started on vault.  For the first time this year, Z stuck her landings on vault.  They looked great to me, but she only scored a 9.300.  I guess that was ok though, since she took first place.

On bars, she looked really strong and scored a 9.475, which was 2nd place.

Beam was rough.  She fell and just was not herself.  In addition to the fall, her start value was reduced and she scored a 7.950. While beam has never been her strongest event, this was only the 3rd time she scored less than an 8.00.

Luckily, she rallied back on floor scoring a 9.400 and taking third place.  Her all around score was 36.125 which was enough for 6th place.

Unfortunately, the team only took third place.  Z took this really hard and put the blame on herself.  In part because her beam score was used for the team score.  I reminded her that it is a "team" score and the fact that they used her score meant that two other people on her team scored lower than her (one of which hasn't competed beam since the Judge's Cup Invitational).  It didn't make her feel any better and took quite a bit of time for her to get over it.

Level 7 State Championships:

The State Championships were held at the same facility as the Level 6 Championships last year and a facility where Z has competed a lot.  We are very familiar with the area.  This year was different though, because in addition to wanting to do well, Z knew that she had to score at least a 34.500 all around to qualify to go to Regionals.  Her lowest all around this season was a 35.675 so I wasn't too concerned.

We started the day on floor.  Not a normal starting rotation for us.  She did great and scored a 9.525.  Despite the high score, she took 4th place.

Vault looked good, but the scores were low.  She scored a 9.275, which was consistent with her team, but only 7th place.

Bars, which has been one of her strongest events this year, was not good.  She ended up falling twice and only scoring an 8.050.  This was the same score as at the Judge's Cup Qualifier.  I could see that she was upset and crying.  I also knew it meant that she was going to have to pull out a good score on beam to qualify for Regionals.

There was quite a delay before they were up on beam.  Luckily, at one point I saw her smiling and could tell that her coach and teammates had worked their magic to cheer her up.  When she got up on beam she looked as strong as I've seen her.  She scored a 9.375, enough for 7th place and an all around of 36.200--definitely qualified for Regionals.

Awards were fun because after handing out all the medals, they announced everyone who qualified for Regionals and gave them special grip bags to use.

We are on our way to Arizona!

Roseville Invitational

Another meet at the Jackson Sports Academy--Z competed there three or four times last year and is doing this meet and States here again.  I think we are getting used to it.

Even though our Level 7 girls got moved to later in the morning, we decided to spend the night near the venue.  The hosting team had asked everyone to wear teal ribbons in support of all the Larry Nassar victims, so I made hair ribbons for all the girls and ribbon pins for all of the parents and coaches.  Although I made a point of giving the coach all the ribbons for him and the Level 6 girls, he forgot them at the gym.  Luckily I had extra ribbon, so he stopped at our hotel and picked them up and got a lesson on how to tie them in the girls' hair.

I ended up having two friends come to this meet.  My old next-door neighbor who I have known for about 40+ years and a client.  The client has a friend whose granddaughter is doing gymnastics and wanted to see a meet.  It was fun to have other people there to watch.

We started on bars.  The seats were right next to the bar set up so we had a great view.  Warm-ups looked good and other than losing her balance on her squat on, Z's routine looked great.  She ended up with a 9.575, so if she hadn't had the arm swings and the step on the dismount, who knows what the score would have been. She took 2nd place on bars.

Beam was a different story.  Warm-up looked good, but during the actual routine, you could see right away that her back walkover was off.  She fell, and when she got back up did the handstand to a back walkover.  One of the judges gave her the full credit, but one reduced her start value to a 9.500.  She wound up with an 8.325.  Again, not bad considering the fall.

Floor was great.  Her teammate that went right before her scored a 9.775 and Z saw the score before she started.  She did seem a bit off on some things but overall was good.  She scored a 9.375, and was in third place.

Vault was a bit scary.  It took me a bit to get over to the vault area and when I saw her warming up, Z looked upset.  She mouthed she didn't know what was wrong and since I didn't see her first warm-up vault, I had no idea.  When she went, she balked, which is apparently what she did the first time.  The third vault, she made it over the vault table, but barely, arms were bent, etc.  She was very upset and went to talk to the coach.  She appeared to be crying and I was afraid that he was going to have her scratch vault.  He let her do another warm-up vault and it definitely looked better.  When she finally competed, she looked great, scored a 9.500 and took first place.  She told me after that she had a stomach cramp and couldn't remember where she was supposed to start her run.  That put her off, but she pulled it back together.

She scored a 36.775 all around which was good enough for 4th place.

Once again, for the third meet in a row, her team scored first place!!  It appears at this point that our team is unstoppable.

Flips Invitational - 2018!

This was by far one of Z's favorite meets last year--the travel, the fun hanging out with her friends and the meet itself was fun.  Last year she competed on Friday afternoon, so she took the day off school and we left early in the morning (it's a 4+ hour drive depending on the snow levels).  This year she didn't compete until Saturday, but since the coach had to be there for an earlier session on Saturday morning and was planning on leaving on Friday, he moved Friday's practice to the morning for those who could make it.  We decided to take the day off school, go to practice and then leave on Friday afternoon.  Although there was forecasted snow and possible chain controls, the drive was perfect.

We got into Reno around 6pm and waited for the rest of the team, including her coach.  The entire group ended up going to Round Table for dinner and playing games while we were there.  Z proved herself to be the Connect 4 master, winning I think 6 games before one of the coaches finally beat her.  :)

We got up the next morning and Z did homework to pass the time.  We got lunch, did hair and then headed down to the venue.  The session before us was behind schedule so we got to watch our level 6 girls on beam.  I was a little concerned because one of the girls had a fall on beam during warm up, but it was before we got there and Z didn't see.  Sometimes the falls affect her and sometimes they don't.

After the warm up, we found out that we were starting on beam.  I'm always happy to start on beam since it gets it out of the way!  :)  Warm up looked good and Z had a couple of wobbles, but overall it appeared to be one of her best routines.  Her score was a 9.225, which was good enough for 6th place.

Floor was next and I was determined to record her routine.  Last year she had a great routine and I had hit the wrong button on my camera.  I achieved success this year and I'm glad I did since she scored a 9.525 (just slightly less than her 9.550 from last year).  This earned her 2nd place.

Vault looked good.  It is hard to see since the vault is so far back from the viewing area, but other than a small step on the landing I didn't see much.  She scored a 9.300, which tied for 4th place.

Bars was last.  Again, it has been inconsistent at best for the whole team.  I hadn't had a chance to watch much practice before the meet, but I know that Z had changed her bar routine from the last meet.  During warm up, one of the girls hit her feet on the high bar and had a pretty good fall, which of course did concern me.  Z got up, did her routine and I almost thought she was going to fall on her clear hip to handstand but didn't.  I really was not expecting the 9.625 score that flashed up--I couldn't see it and when someone else told me what it was I started crying.  Z got a hug from a team mate and also shed a tear, it was so exciting.  She ended up in 2nd place.  She now holds her gym's record for the highest Level 7 bar score.

Her all around score was a 37.675--the highest she's ever had--and placed her in 2nd place on the podium.  And for the second meet in a row, our team took home first place as a team!

Our Level 8 girl competed in the session after us, so we were able to relax a bit.  Then we ended up doing mexican food with her coach and a few other teammates and coaches.  Z's coach was turning 21 the day after the meet--we had them sing happy birthday to him during the awards for Level 8.  :)  And, in a repeat of last year, the girls and coaches all played laser tag as the arcade was closing for the night.

We got up the next morning, ate breakfast and headed home!  It was a great weekend!

Golden State Classic

So our second meet and "first" of the season was the Golden State Classic.  Z loves any meet held at this facility, and didn't mind that she was going to get to spend the night at her aunt's house the night before. Having her aunt come watch was a bonus.  Hard to believe it has been over a year since Z has competed at this gym and I just realized that we didn't compete any meets there for Level 6.

The girls started on beam.  It was hard to see the warm-up as the beam is in the far corner of the gym.  She seemed a little shaky and a bit off, but didn't actually fall.  She scored an 8.500, which was a little confusing to me.  Talking to her coach later, he told me that she paused too long between her back walkovers which reduced her start value to a 9.500.  She had a couple of big wobbles and she told me later that she had forgotten her mount and missed a little bit at the front of the routine.

On floor, I thought she looked great, and she scored a 9.375--I thought it was a little low, but her coach pointed out that her split leap was a bit off and her front tumbling pass was low.  She took 3rd place.

Vault was weird as they used a vault going the opposite direction of what we are used to.  It was nice because the video shows her running towards me and you could see the actual vault a lot better.  While she did take a step on her landings, she scored a 9.400, which wound up being 1st place.

Bars was last.  As a team, bars has been inconsistent this season.  I've seen some really good days and some not so good days.  The girl right before Z fell on her cast to handstand on the high bar and I was afraid that it would affect Z.  And, I was right.  She never quite hit handstand on the low bar and then didn't complete her giant and fell.  She still scored a 9.000, and took 4th place.

Z's all around score was a 36.275, which was good enough for 4th place.  The team took first place as a team--the girls were so excited!  This is only the second year that we have had enough girls on the optional team to even be considered for a team award.


This wasn't the best meet that she has had, but it was an improvement over Judge's Cup and a good starting point.

We have two weeks until the next meet when we are Reno bound!