Camas’ Dietz captures all-around crown at 4A district gymnastics meet

BATTLE GROUND — Alexa Dietz stood by herself atop the podium. But she was not alone.

The Camas junior didn’t compete just for herself at the Class 4A Greater St. Helens League district gymnastics championships Saturday at Battle Ground.

Dietz has felt gratitude to her Camas teammates since Day One of this season, when she joined a high school gymnastics team for the first time after 12 years of club competition.

“Everyone treated me like one of them from the very first day,” Dietz said. “I missed having a close team.”

Now Dietz and her teammates are going somewhere Camas has never been as a team – the WIAA state championships.

Behind all-around champ Dietz, the Papermakers earned their fourth straight team title and an automatic berth to the state meet Feb. 17-18 in Tacoma. Thanks to an expanded state meet, gymnasts now qualify directly from the district meet.

In the past, Southwest Washington teams would advance to regionals, where tough Seattle-area competition awaited.

“This was the time to do it,” Camas coach Carol Willson said. “And we have the team to do well. We have kids to pull up if we need to, in case someone gets injured.”

Dietz placed first in the floor exercise and vault, third in the uneven bars and fourth in the beam for a total score of 35.925. Teammate Jacqueline Purwins, last year’s champ, was second with 35.400.

Heritage’s Emily Mattsen was third, claiming a state berth as the top all-around finisher not on the winning team.

Camas won all four individual events. Purwins won the uneven bars and Madison Martin won the beam.

Despite the higher stakes Saturday, Dietz ramped up the difficulty of her routines. Because of that, she won the vault with a score of 9.000 despite falling on her landing.

“I was really nervous for this meet,” she said. “But I came in and was with all my friends and was like, it’s OK. It will work itself out.”

3A/2A district — Sarah Ellis won the all-around title, leading Columbia River to the team title at the 3A/2A district meet in Battle Ground.

Columbia River outdistanced Ridgefield 157.875-148.475 for the district title and berth to the state tournament. Ellis won the bars (9.05), Beam (9.1) to take the all-around title (36.35). Ridgefield’s Kylie Tjensvold was second at 34.45. Both gymnasts advanced to state in the all-around.

Mountain View’s Nina Evans won the vault (9.2) and Megan Beatty of Hudson’s Bay won the floor exercise (9.4)

4A Greater St. Helens League Championships

At Battle Ground High School

Team scores (1 team to state) — 1, Camas 170.575; 2, Heritage 161.325; 3, Union 159.350; 4, Skyview 147.750l 5, Battle Ground 95.575.

Individual placers

All-Round — 1, Alexa Dietz (C) 35.925; 2, Jacqueline Purwins (C) 35.400; 3, Emily Mattsen (H) 34.450; 4, Jadyn Gobert (H) 34.400; 5, Logan Nelson (U) 34.250; 6, Emily Karkanen (C) 33.150; 7, Madison Schalk (U) 32.050; 8, Kayja Jacques (U) 31.500; 9, Kimyia Jamison (H) 31.400; 10, Kendall Jensen (S) 31.150.

Vault — 1, Dietz (C) 9.000; 2, Purwins (C) 8.950; 3, Schalk (U) 8.400; 4, Karkanen (C) 8.350; 5, Nelson (U) 8.300; 6, Mattsen (H) 8.250; 7, Jacques (U) 8.200; 8, Autumn Fivecoats (S) 8.150; 9, Jade Romberg (H) 8.050; 10, Gobert (H) 8.000.

Bars — 1, Purwins (C) 8.800; 2, Gobert (H) 8.750; 3, Dietz (C) 8.700; 4, Mattsen (H) 8.100; 5, Karkanen (C) 8.050; 6, Nelson (U) 8.000; 6, Madison Martin (C) 8.000; 8, Jamison (H) 7.150; 8, Allison Yaijko (S) 7.150; 10, Annika Affleck (C) 7.050.

Beam — 1, Martin (C) 8.950; 2, Jacques (U) 8.850; 3, Mattsen (H) 8.750; 4, Dietz (C) 8.600; 5, Nelson (U) 8.500; 5, Sienna Brophy (C) 8.500; 7, Gobert (H) 8.450; 8, Schalk (U) 8.400; 9, Purwins (C) 8.350; 10, Hailey Meyer (U) 8.300.

Floor — 1, Dietz (C) 9.625; 2, Nelson (U) 9.450; 3, Mattsen (H) 9.350; 4, Purwins (C) 9.300; 5, Schalk (U) 9.250; 6, Gobert (H) 9.200; 7, Yaijko (S) 9.125; 8, Jamison (H) 9.100; 9, Romberg (H) 9.000; 10, Fivecoats (S) 8.900; 10, Blair (C) 8.900.

Individual state qualifiers not on winning team

All-around — Mattsen (H).

Vault — Schalk (U), Nelson (U), Jacques (U), Fivecoats (S), Romberg (H).

Bars — Gobert (H), Nelson (U), Jamison (H), Yaijko (S), Schalk (U).

Beam — Jacques (U), Nelson (U), Gobert (H), Schalk (U), Meyer (U).

Floor –Nelson (U), Schalk (U), Gobert (H), Yaijko (S), Jamison (H).

2A/3A District Gymnastics

at Battle Ground High School

Team scores (1 team to state) — 1. Columbia River 157.875; 2. Ridgefield 148.475; 3. Hudson’s Bay 137.20; 4. Evergreen 131.65; 5. Mountain View 108.375; 6. Prairie 102.80; 7. Fort Vancouver 49.3

(x-individual state qualifiers)

Vault — 1. Nina Evans (MV) 9.2, 2. Sarah Ellis, CR, 8.85; 3. Megan Beatty-x, HB, 8.4; 4. Kylie Tjensvold (R) 8.25; 5. Alissa Branaugh-x, (R) 8.15; 6T. Abigail Wilson-x, (E) Alison Day-x, (P) 8.05; 8. Samantha Hixson, (CR) 7.95; 9. Vanessa Brunkow-x, (E) 7.9; 10. Melody DeLeon, (HB) 7.85

Bars — 1. Sarah Ellis, (CR) 9.05; 2. Evans, (MV) 8.85; 3. Tjensvold, (R) 8.2; 4. Morgan Fitzer, (CR) 8.15; 5. Beatty-x, (HB) 8.05; 6. Branaugh-x, (R) 7.0; 7T. Hixson, (CR) DeLeon-x, HB, 6.6; 9. Julie Fergus, (CR) 6.15; 10. Wilson-x, (E) 5.95

Beam — 1. Ellis (CR) 9.1; 2. Tjensvold, (R) 8.85; 3. Beatty-x, (HB) 8.45; 4. Fitzer, (CR) 8.3; 5. Fergus, (CR) 8.2; 6. Brunkow-x, (E) 7.8; 7. Hixson, (CR) 7.75; 8T. Wilson-x, (E) Breanna Koenninger-x (R) 7.7; 10. Emma Bennett-x, (R) 7.575.

Floor — 1. Beatty-x, (HB) 9.4; 2. Ellis (CR) 9.35; 3. Wilson-x, (E) 9.25; 4T. Evans, (MV) Fitzer, (CR) 9.225; 6. Tjensvold, (R) 9.15; 7. Hixson, (CR) 8.5; 8. Branaugh-x, (R) 8.45; 9. DeLeon-x, (HB) 8.4; 10. Venus Howard-x, (MV) 8.35.

All-Around — 1. Ellis, (CR) 36.35; 2. Tjensvold-x, (R) 34.45; 3. Evans-x, (MV) 34.425.