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Columbia River places second at state gymnastics

DeBellis places 11th in all-around competition

By Paul Valencia, Columbian High School Sports Reporter
Published: February 17, 2012, 4:00pm

TACOMA — So much emotion packed into about four hours of gymnastics.

The Columbia River Chieftains were up.

Then they were down.

And in the end, the Chieftains soared and walked away with a second-place trophy at the Class 3A state gymnastics championships Friday at the Tacoma Dome’s Exhibition Hall.

“We told ourselves to pick it up on beam because we had some shaky moments out there,” senior Jennifer DeBellis said. “It was a lot more reassuring that we finished strong.”

Their finish was the difference between second and third.

Enumclaw claimed the team title, finishing first in all four events — vault, uneven bars, balance beam, floor exercise — and scoring 177.600 points. River posted 167.800, edging Bainbridge with 167.525.

“We went full circle. We started out great, and then we had some trials,” Columbia River coach Alicia Green said. “They showed their true spirit by overcoming all those trials and finishing on beam. They did amazing.”

Columbia River finished third last year.

“I’m just so happy to be part of Columbia River,” said freshman Nikki Dyer, who scored the second-most points for River behind DeBellis. “It’s a reward, a privilege to be part of this big family.”

DeBellis ended up 11th in the all-around competition. Fort Vancouver’s Chelsea Zimmerman was 12th. Dyer ended up 14th.

Dyer also led Clark County gymnasts by qualifying for three individual event finals. She will compete on the beam, the vault, and the floor Saturday.

“I think there is room for improvement, but I am proud of myself,” Dyer said.

DeBellis, meanwhile, a two-time state champion on the floor, will try for a third championship. She also made it on bars — the event she finished second in last year. She is making no promises for Saturday, other than she is going to smile. Even with a crooked tooth.

“Anything can go wrong at any moment,” she said with a laugh, sporting a chipped tooth from a bad experience with an M&M from Thursday night. “I’m just going to have fun with it now. It would be great to win as a senior, but I’ll be happy with whatever I get.”

Fort Vancouver’s Chelsea Zimmerman made it to finals on the bars and the floor.

“I’ve gained one this year,” she said, noting she only made it on floor last year. “I still have one more year, too.”

She also cracked the top 16 to pick up a medal in the all-around competition, finishing 12th.

The top 16 3A individuals in each event advanced to finals. The top eight will place.

Prairie’s Meghan Costello also made it to finals, qualifying on the vault.

Mountain View returned to the team competition for the first time since 2004. The Thunder gained some experience and finished eighth with 145.125 points. Kaitlyn Nagy was the Thunder’s top point scorer, totalling 30.475 in the all-around.

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Columbian High School Sports Reporter