THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 13, 1995 TAG: 9501110118
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 114 lines
CHURCHLAND COACH JOE BYSTROM sizes up the Southeastern District girls gymnastics competition as ``Great Bridge and then the rest of us.''
And the coaches of the four schools in the district fielding teams agree with him.
Few teams can claim dominance in a sport for more than a few years. After the brief glory years usually comes a time of rebuilding, where other teams step forward and have their moment in the sun.
That's not the case for Great Bridge gymnastics.
The Wildcats have owned the gym for a decade, finishing on top in the Southeastern District nine times, including the last eight years in a row. Great Bridge should easily claim its 10th district title in 1995.
``We're like a family, our own little nucleus,'' said Sharon Ivey, who is in her ninth year coaching at Great Bridge. ``I'm very proud of the fact that my girls are all true high school gymnasts.''
The biggest obstacle for the Wildcats is filling the shoes of Lorie Martin. Martin won district titles in the all-around and floor events and advanced to the state competition, where she finished ninth in the vault.
Stepping up is senior co-captain Nadia Amen, who is considered by Ivey as the team's best all-around gymnast.
``She has lots of potential on all the events. She's a very conscientious and hard-working young lady,'' said Ivey. ``She's got good work habits and keeps her body in top physical condition.''
Co-captain Erin Dyer is a consistent, if not flashy, performer, and newcomer Suzanne Lingo has surprised Ivey and her teammates with her natural skill since taking up the sport this year.
For inspiration, the Wildcats need look no further than junior Suzanne Humphrey. Humphrey has advanced to the state competition on balance beam since she was a freshman and finished 13th last year, even though she was in constant pain from two stress fractures in her lower back.
``She's a tough young lady, and she'll give Nadia a run for her money on beam,'' said Ivey. Humphrey rehabilitated her back over the summer but will not compete in floor exercise or vault, in order to place less strain on her fractures.
Churchland has Portsmouth's only team and Bystrom, who has been coaching since 1976 and is the dean of area gymnastics coaches, is working with a squad of 14. Seven are holdovers.
The big question mark is Kelly Hughes, a senior who missed last season with an injury and was a region qualifier as a sophomore. Last year, Hughes suffered a knee injury in the first scrimmage of the year.
``Right now I would say Kelly is about 50 or 60 percent,'' Bystrom said. ``I believe she will be 80 percent or better by the district competition. And that makes her a contender. She is very strong on bars.
``Because of her injury, we are working with her on a different dismount.''
Bystrom is pleased by the progress of sophomore Jackie Bales and freshman Kristal Talton.
``Jackie is an all-around gymnast who is only going to get better,'' said Bystrom. ``Kristal has a lot of potential.''
A solid addition is senior Sarah Atkins, a transfer from Wilson. ``She has been taking dance, so she does exceptionally well on the floor routine,'' said Bystrom.
Sophomore Suzy Tarkenton was a region qualifier on vault last year. ``She has grown two inches since last year so that has caused some adjustment,'' said Bystrom.
The Truckers lost junior Karen Moss, who is participating in the Magnet program.
Deep Creek coach Gina Dukes has 13 gymnasts on her team, and all but two are freshmen or sophomores. The Hornets finished second in every quad meet last season, losing only to Great Bridge.
Dukes has three gymnasts who can compete as all-arounds, including returning sophomore Mariel Brown, who placed third in beam and fourth in floor at districts, and sophomore vault specialist Lori Tempesco.
Deep Creek's third all-around gymnast is freshman Laura Bryan, a former Ocean Tumblers student and the only Hornet to have private club exposure.
Also returning are juniors Bobbie Jo Hess (vault, bars) and Staci Dockery (floor, beam), and sophomore Rian Cuthrell (vault, beam and floor).
``Some gymnasts are good at a couple of events and terrible in others,'' said Dukes. ``In beam, you can hit a routine five times in a row in practice without falling, but it's a totally different experience in front of the judges.''
For Western Branch, the goal is not to give Great Bridge a run for the district title but to improve its scores as a team. Coach Caren Davis took her gymnasts to an international camp in Pennsylvania this summer, and the Bruins already are reaping the benefits.
``We learned new skills and techniques, and we'll do better than we did last year,'' said Davis. Western Branch finished third in each quad meet last season. ``We're still a beginning team, but we'll do better within our own team if not on the scoreboard.''
The Bruins will be paced by three all-around gymnasts - junior Kim Sykes, sophomore JoBeth Willey, and freshman Erica Chinn.
In the individual events, the Bruins will get points from seniors Kristine Harrison (vault, bars) and Kristy Gonzalez (floor, beam), and juniors Noelle Hagwood and Sandy Ordemann on the floor and beam events.
The district competition got under way Wednesday with a quad meet at Western Branch. The second quad meet will be next Wednesday at Deep Creek and the final one Feb. 1 at Great Bridge.
The district meet will be Wednesday, Feb. 8, at Western Branch. MEMO: Contributing to this story was Currents sports editor Bill Leffler. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Churchland senior Kelly Hughes practices on the uneven bars with the
help of coach Joe Bystrom. ``Right now I would say Kelly is about 50
or 60 percent,'' Bystrom said. ``I believe she will be 80 percent or
better by the district competition. And that makes her a
contender.''
Joe Bystrom, the dean of area gymnastics coaches, has been at it
since 1976. Churchland has the city's only gymnastics squad.
by CNB