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.”