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Show Gymnasts earn I state honors By G.BRETT HART ; Sports Editor PROVO Gymnasts from North Davis Gymnastics Gym-nastics in Layton battled their way to second place team J, honors in state championship, level 8 competition Fri- j ; day at Brigham Young University's Smith's Fieldhouse - en route, two North Davis ladies earned all-around and bar championship titles. North Davis finished second behind Rocky Mountain Moun-tain Gymnastics in the level 8, team competition. In the individual standings, Jenny Potter, 13, was crowned as the state's top, level 8 all-around gymnast in the 12-14 age division. Though Potter did not win any individual event outright, her consistency on the parallel uneven bars, beam, floor and vault exercises earned her the all-around all-around state championship with a score of 34.35. Potter claimed second in the floor exercise scoring a 9.1 and took fourth in both the beam and bars with scores of 8.2 and 8.65. "We were caught off guard," Potter's coach (and father) said. "She didn't take first in any one event, but she was consistent Jenny does well in high pressure situations." situa-tions." Potter has been involved in gymnastics for five years. She and her teammates, like most gymnasts, put in more than 20 hours per week in practice. Central Junior High's Wendy Wall was crowned Friday as the state bar champion. Her first-round 9.2 performance on the uneven parallel bars held up against subsequent competitors as the evenings finest. "It was kind of funny. We had the first rotation on the bars, and usually the scores fluctuate as the meet progresses. After two hours, it's difficult for the judges to remember how good the first rotation was," Potter explained. "I thought that the whole meet was well-judged. "Wendy has never won a first place title. This will be a big boost for her." Wall finished fourth in the all-around, level 8 rankings rank-ings in the 12-14 class with a combined score of 33.75. Jamie Carlisle, 12, a Columbia Elementary student from Kaysville, returned from an injury to take fourth place in the floor and qualify, with her teammates, for the regional meet next month. Carlisle broke a number of blood vessels in her foot two weeks before the state meet. Her score of 8.9 in the floor earned her the opportunity opportuni-ty to join Potter and Wall in Phoenix Ariz. April 20 to compete against the West's top level 8 gymnasts for regional honors. Carlisle, who has consistently beaten both Wall and Potter, finished ninth in the all-around competition with a score of 32.9 due to her injury. Potter expects her to be fully recovered by the regional meet. Two North Davis gymnasts also earned recognition in the level 8, 9-11 class. Katie Davis, 10, and Christy Smith, 11, earned sixth place finishes in Friday's state meet Davis took sixth in the floor with an 8.8. Smith took sixth in the beam and vault with scores of 8.3 and 8.4, respectively. |