THORNTON — Every fall, Thornton High School, site of the Class 4A and 5A state gymnastics meets, becomes a spectacle for whirling dervishes, for powerful and graceful performers.
On Friday, in the 4A all-around competition, Thompson Valley’s Alyssa Carroll displayed more poise and power than the rest in placing first in all four events, the uneven bars, the floor, the vault, and the balance beam. The senior dominated the field in claiming her second straight state championship in all-around with 38.55 points, more than a point and a half clear of Standley Lake’s Jordan Ireland.
After such a dominating performance Friday, Carroll was looking for an encore Saturday in the individual event competition. The future Nebraska Cornhusker more than delivered with three individual state championships.
Carroll came in to the evening hoping for four crowns and came within tenths of a point of achieving her goal. A touch of too much power caused a slight stumble in the floor exercise, giving her a score of 9.475 — a mere .025 points off Ireland’s 9.500. She was more than pleased with three titles, though.
“I did want to win floor just because I won last year. You know that quote that you can’t win everything? It kind of applies here,” Carroll said with a laugh. “But that’s OK. Jordan did a really good floor today and she deserved it.”
Outside of the stumble, Carroll was thorough in a performance that varied from solid to spectacular.
The senior kicked off her Saturday by claiming the state championship in the uneven bars with 9.7 points, well ahead of Niwot’s Marissa Koski’s score of 9.275.
Then, came Carroll’s slight stumble in floor. She recovered with a title performance on the balance beam (9.75). Niwot’s Gabby Casey placed second (9.45).
“My beam routine really stuck out,” Carroll said. “Yesterday I was kind of wobbly on it and today most of it was solid.”
Then, came the spectacular. Carroll used her speed and power to elevate high into the air during the vault. Her landing was picturesque, causing a few judges to give her a score of 9.9. Her average of 9.85 points claimed a third crown of the day, a sweet ending to an illustrious career.
“That was such a good vault,” Carroll said. “That’s one of my best vaults that I’ve done all season, because usually I take a huge step back and today I just stuck it. It felt really good. My heart felt whole.”
“She has not stuck it with two feet planted and no movement ever that I have seen,” Thompson Valley coach Jaia Sattler added. “Tonight, she stuck it. We were all crazy excited. That was the cherry on top of a good weekend.”
4A may not miss Carroll’s immense talent next year, but Sattler and Thompson Valley certainly will.
“It’s really nice to have her on the team, especially as a new head coach,” Sattler, in her first year as head of the program, said. “She’s just a really good leader. We have such a young team and a lot of girls are new to high school and so to be able to watch her. There’s girls who are like, “Alyssa is so fearless. I want to be like her. It helps drive the other girls. We are going to miss her a lot.”
Carroll finished her brief but spectacular two-year Thompson Valley career with two all-around state championships and five individual event state championships. She was also part of a team state title as a junior.
In 5A, Pomona freshman Kelsey Boychuk, after winning all-around Friday, added to her memorable weekend with a state title in the vault. Her score of 9.85 was more than enough to hold off Cherry Creek’s Mackenzie Doerr (9.75) and Thornton’s Sierra Kirylo (9.725).
Boychuk was ecstatic about her first high school season.
“I’ve done a lot to get here, but it’s kind of unexpected,” Boychuk said of winning both all-around and vault. “I know there’s a lot of good girls here.”
Overland’s Devin Bundas, the 2013 state champion in the floor exercise, won the uneven bars with a tally of 9.725 points, just ahead of Broomfield’s Kailey Licata (9.7). Bundas, a senior who finishes as a two-time all-state competitor, was a key member of Overland’s second-straight team title Friday.
Licata, fifth-place in the all-around competition, came back to win the floor exercise with 9.7 points. Broomfield’s Sarah Holbrook won the balance beam with 9.7 points, as well.
