State gymnastics qualifiers represent TJ well after a well fought meet. photo by Macey Murray
The TJ Varsity gymnastics team had an impressive season, with all six members qualifying for state and setting a record for the highest team score in TJ history.
The girls’ varsity gymnastics team worked hard for the meets leading into city, regionals, and state. The city meet consisted of three teams: Denver East, Denver South/George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson. Although the team took second in the city meet, they set a record high score for TJ, earning 150 out of 200 possible points. The girls competed their best, but sadly lost to Denver East. In spite of coming in second at their city meet, the girls were prepared for regionals and ultimately state. The regional meet, which took place Saturday October 29th, was also a successful meet for the team, considering all six qualified as individuals for the state meet. They were one place away from qualifying as a team, with a score around the same value as the city meet. Each individual qualified for at least one event, including seniors and co-captains Caroline Cech and Olivia Palizzi, juniors Tori Conroy, Chloe Richter, and Cecelia Allen, and freshman Hanna Channell.
Coach Molly Sifers was thrilled about the qualifications for this year. “The team did really well at state. This is the first time we’ve qualified so many girls and it was really exciting,” said Sifers. “They were so focused and worked really hard throughout the week. We definitely had some personal bests.” Sifers is fairly new to the team, only filling the coaching position last year. Since joining the team, she has helped them come extremely far. Sifers said, “The team has improved so much from last year to this year, we have more girls this year than we have had in the past and many of our returning girls came into the season with specific goals and a focus, now they know what to expect from the coach and the program.”
Although the girls competed their best, no one qualified for finals during state. Cech commented, “I think I did pretty well. I had my highest all around score all season and really bumped up my bar score which was my weakest event. Overall I think we had a good meet.”
Although none of the team qualified for state finals, their season was one of the best in TJ history. They set a record for the highest team score at TJ, and they have improved a great amount in the past few seasons. The team is excited for the off season in order to learn and improve on their skills. “I couldn’t be more proud of my team. We have worked so hard this season and it’s so rewarding to see that our hard work payed off,” explained Palizzi. After a successful season, the team is ready to work hard during the off season.
