CBL GYMNASTICS NOTES - JANUARY 24, 2008

Interior designers may love a shiny hardwood floor, but gymnasts will take a good spring floor any day of the week.

And CBL gymnasts got good news this week when it was decided to switch the district meet from Southridge High next Wednesday to Garland's Gym in Kennewick on Feb. 1.

Garland's, which is run by Richland coach Brett Garland, is a favorite among local high school gymnasts because of its spring floors, which allow them to be a lot more dynamic with their floor exercise routines.

"It makes an unbelievable difference," said Kamiakin coach Sarah Garrett, who stacks double mats during practices and meets at the Braves' gym. "When you can throw a double back (handspring) on floor, everybody's score goes up because you get to use skills you're not throwing on the wrestling mats."

CBL coaches are looking forward to getting their teams healthy for the meet, and no coach has gone unbitten by the injury bug.

Kamiakin's Alisha Sherman is still recovering from a bruised LCL, Richland's Danielle Taylor has been hampered by nagging ankles for the latter half of the season and now Southridge is the latest team to get hit hard.

"(Among) our top six for districts, we have one case of bronchitis in Tristan Peterson and another with walking pneumonia (Destiny Brito)," said Suns coach Heidi Fryer, who credits seniors Becca Cone and Nicky Rhoads for helping keep the team on track. "They've been working really hard and have come through as leaders."

Despite Braves sophomore Mac Niles' domination of the all-around competition at CBL meets -- she's won the last three meets after coming back from a broken hand -- Fryer believes that Southridge sophomore Laura Batdorf has the ability to beat her.

"She's keeping (Niles) in her sights. She's gotten pretty close," said Fryer, remembering the Jan. 10 meet, where Niles scored 35.35 to edge Batdorf for first by just two-tenths of a point.

"I'd love to see Laura put everything all together," Fryer said. "When her head is in the game and she's completely on, there's no stopping her."

CBL GYMNASTICS NOTES - JANUARY 10, 2008

Kamiakin coach Sarah Garrett was excited about her team's potential this year in terms of finishing high at the 3A state meet in Tacoma.

As it turns out, it may not be until state Feb. 15-16 that she gets to see the full potential of her talented squad.

First, it was sophomore Mac Niles who nursed a broken hand through the first three weeks of the season.

Now that Niles is back, senior Alisha Sherman is out with a bruised lateral collateral ligament, though Garrett said she could return for Kamiakin's final home meet next Wednesday.

"I'm hoping my group is all ready once we go to regionals and state," Garrett said. "The only thing that's frustrating is that we have yet to compete to our potential."

The CBL district meet will be Jan. 30, and the 3A Eastern Regionals will be Feb. 9, which gives the Braves just over a month to find their groove.

Injuries have also shelled the Hanford and Richland programs, as Bombers junior Danielle Taylor suffered an ankle injury that has kept her off the mats for the last two weeks.

"She's had a history of bad ankles. She's got plates in both of them from past surgeries. We were very successful in keeping her injury free last year," said Richland coach Brett Garland. "She's pretty torqued about not being able to compete."

Garland is optimistic that Taylor will be back in time for districts and regionals, but got some more bad news with the injuries to Richland's Noelle Hayden and Hanford's Ashley Keever -- both state qualifiers in 2007.

Hayden has been nursing an abdominal strain but will likely return in time for postseason.

Keever, however, has struggled with a possible stress fracture in her lower back that has effectively ended her hopes of a return to state.

GYMNASTICS PREVIEW - 2007-08 SEASON

Kamiakin stood head and shoulders above area programs last last season, qualifying as a team for the 3A state championships in Tacoma for the first time since 1993.

According to at least one Mid-Columbia coach, the Braves could do even more than that this season. If everything goes well, they could win the whole shebang.

"They've got six to eight kids that can all do high-level gymnastics," said Richland/ Hanford coach Brett Garland. "The potential is there (to win state), but I don't know if they believe it."

Kamiakin coach Sarah Garrett certainly does.

"We're a better team this year with more experience," said Garrett, who returns seniors Kelsie Duncan, plus twin sisters Alisha and Chanelle Sherman. "We're definitely going to state and placing higher than we did last year (sixth)."

Kamiakin also brings in sophomore Mac (short for Mikaela) Niles -- by far the most talented newcomer this winter -- and freshman Danielle Cuevas.

Niles is expected to challenge Richland's Danielle Taylor -- Niles' former teammate at Mid-Columbia Gymnastics Academy -- for the CBL district all-around championship.

"Kamiakin is going to be looking good for the next few years, but this year could be our best," Garrett said. "Mac is the perfect gymnast coming in. She's ready-made. She has so much experience in gymnastics it's unbelievable."

Niles is still recovering from a broken hand suffered during a recent practice. Despite the injury, she was still able to win the balance beam and place third in the vault in a CBL meet Dec. 5. She is expected to be close to 100 percent by early January.

Garland said Taylor, a junior, came back this season with a renewed energy and committed herself to a minimum of 16-18 hours a week in the gym to prepare for the upcoming high school season.

"She won (4A Eastern) Regionals last year, but she was really just a shadow of herself at that point," Garland said. "Last year she came to me out of shape and didn't know anything about what high school (gymnastics) had to offer. When we got to regionals and state and it was very competitive."

Taylor finished sixth in the uneven bars finals at the 4A state meet.

"Now she knows what to expect," Garland said. "(At state) she said, 'I'm going to come back and win this meet next year.' "

Garland also coaches the Hanford program, which will feature Ashley Keever -- who qualified for the 3A state meet in the all-around last year -- and Noelle Hayden.

Laura Batdorf of Southridge returns after qualifying for state in the all-around last year. She will be joined by five other all-around gymnasts, including Desert Gymnastics teammate Tristan Peterson.

"This is the first time we've had that (turnout)," said Suns coach Heidi Fryer, who made a successful transition from club coaching to the high school ranks last season. "All six should score pretty high as soon as they all get healthy."