THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 25, 1996 TAG: 9602250237
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RESTON LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
When Brooke Sawyer was 4, her grandfather bought her a ballerina's tutu. Now, 13 years later, it's time for Emmett Sawyer to buy a trophy case.
Saturday night at South Lakes High, the Kellam junior danced and tumbled her way to the state all-around gymnastics title in the closest race in tournament history.
Sawyer edged Robinson's Cara Dougherty by a mere five hundreths of a point.
All the years of ballet and gymnastics training finally had paid off.
``There's been a lot of time and hard work put into this,'' Emmett Saywer said. ``She's worked hard and she really deserves this.''
Watching last year's state meet from the stands might have fueled the fire. Sawyer was a state champion contender but suffered a slight fracture in her leg and sat out the postseason.
She had finished fifth all-around as a freshman.
``I was peaking last year and got hurt,'' she said. ``So this meant a lot to me. Last year, watching from the stands was really hard on me and that makes this even more special.''
Winning such a tight race featuring the state's elite didn't hurt.
``I knew it was close, but I didn't know how close,'' Sawyer said. ``There were a lot of good gymnasts here.''
Surprisingly, Sawyer won the all-around title without taking any individual championships. She finished second in vaulting with a 9.55 and on balance beam with a 9.65. She tied for third on floor with a 9.5 and was 12th on uneven bars with a 9.35.
But it was on bars that she saved her victory - almost missing a move that could have resulted in a fall that would have killed her chances.
``My straddle back to a hand stand (on the low bar) . . . I saved it and didn't fall,'' she said. ``That would have been the difference.
``And I didn't do my best vault, either and that disappointed me.''
Sawyer finished the competition on vault and watched while Dougherty and Gillian Cote of James Monroe finished their last rotations - both with a chance to overtake Sawyer.
Dougherty finished on beam, needing a 9.6 to tie or a 9.65 to win. But her routine was flawed with several wobbles and she scored a 9.55. Close, but not enough.
``(Hundreths)[sic] of a point is the nature of gymnastics,'' Knights coach Debi Strausbaugh said.
Next was Cote on vault, needing a 9.55 to tie or a 9.6 to win. But she failed to stick her landing on either of her two tries and was awarded a 9.45 to finish third all-around with a 37.95.
Cote was a surprise challenger for her AA school, as this was the first time the Virginia High School League allowed A and AA schools to compete by declassifying the individual portion of the state meet.
But she came away with state individual titles on uneven bars with a state record 9.8 and on floor with a 9.7 - the second-best score in state floor history.
Shannon Osborne of Varina took the vaulting title by tying a state record of 9.7 set by Sawyer in 1994 and tied by Bayside's Liane Williams in 1995. Herndon's Merrit Noble won the balance beam competition with a 9.7 - the second-highest score registered in that event.
Sawyer's all-around tally was 1.5 points shy of a state record of 38.2 set by Menchville's Katherine Creswell in 1994. Sawyer has equaled that mark twice in district and region competition.
Her title was the second such crown for Kellam. Lori Lebo won in 1986.
It was the Beach District's fifth state all-around title since the tournament began in 1972. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Brooke Sawyer, a Kellam junior, danced and tumbled her way to the
state all-around gymnastics title in the closest race ever.
by CNB