The Mirror Newspapers Reflecting Life Along The Maumee River
BY YANEEK SMITH | MIRROR SPORTS — It’s been a great season for the Anthony Wayne gymnastics team – and it only got better following a good showing at the Division I district meet.
The Generals took second in a competition that featured 23 teams, finishing with 137.275 points, just behind Perrysburg, which won the tournament with 137.925 points.
Liberty Center was third with 135.525 points and Notre Dame Academy took fourth with 130.85 points.
Emily Liskai had a great performance to lead AW, qualifying for the state tournament in four events: the vault, beam, floor routine and all-around competition.
She was second all-around with 35.525 points, won the vault with 9.2 points, was third on the beam (9.2), sixth on the floor (9.075) and 15th on the bars (8.05).
Her teammate, Hannah Chen, qualified for state in three events: she was fifth all-around with 35.1 points and finished fourth in the vault (8.9) and fourth on the floor (9.15). She was also 11th in both the bars (8.2) and the beam (8.85).
“I am so proud of (Emily and Hannah),” said AW coach Faye Smith. “Emily making it in the all-around competition and finishing second overall as a freshman is amazing.
“And Hannah making it to state for a second year in a row, and this year in the all-around, just shows how hard she has been working this season They really worked hard and focused at the meet and it showed in their routines.”
Kennedy Kehres was 12th on vault (8.15), 13th on the beam (8.775) and finished 14th in the all-around competition with 33.5 points, while Mary Towles was 17th on the beam (8.725) and 18th all-around (33.05).
Five other Lady Generals competed: Lainey Gouin (8.5 on the beam), Anna Grabarczyk (8.275 floor), Haley Elliott (7.725 beam), Bella Trombley (7.7 vault and Anna Wright (6.075 bars).
“I could not be more proud of how the girls did at this meet. They came out ready to win and put their hearts into each and every routine,” Smith said.
“They fought for every 10th (of a point) and I am so pleased with how they did. We had our best meet of the season, earning our highest team score by four points – and they had fun while doing so.
“Everyone on our team stuck their beam routine, which is extremely difficult to do in a high-stress meet. They showed off their floor routines with confidence and they really showed some power in their vault and bars. The team pulled together and just did an awesome job.”
