Gymchicks win state championship

Every afternoon for the last several years when the Blytheville Gymchicks would arrive at the Auxiliary Gym for practice, each team member would look at the large photo of the 1997 state gymnastics champions and wonder how she would react if her team could win a title of its own.

As of Friday night, those days of wondering are over.

The Gymchicks showed a few flashes of brilliance Friday during the five-team State Meet at the Blytheville High School Auxiliary Gym, but mainly it was their top-to-bottom consistency in all events that helped them total 162.695 points en route to their first Arkansas gymnastics title in 14 years.

Monticello, which fought the Gymchicks "tooth-and-nail" a few times this season, finished second in the meet with 157.275 points. Camden

Fairview was third with 156.9 points, Dumas fourth with 146.625 and Texarkana fifth at 132.85.

The state championship seemed an ideal cure -- at least temporarily -- for the flu that had plagued Gymchicks coach Harriett Jumper all week; it also allowed her a chance to finally relax a little. "I knew our girls had the talent to win this championship; they just had to have those abilities brought out at the right time," Jumper said. "I may be the 'tool' that helps

these girls a little in that respect, but these girls are the 'craftsmen' when it comes to gymnastics. They do the work and they get the credit, which is how it should be."

Sylvia Keiter, a senior at Gosnell, proved to no one's surprise that she was the most gifted gymnast at the meet. Competing alone in the "A" division, Keiter totaled 36.825 points. She scored a 9.45 on the vault, 9.4 on the balance beam, 9.175 in the floor exercise and 8.8 on the uneven bars.

Jumper stated that her athletes' attitudes toward accepting nothing short of their very best efforts, and their commitment to excellence is what propelled the Gymchicks to their championship. "Deep down, it was a heart-felt effort by everyone to be their absolute best -- and then do just a little bit better than that," she said.

Tessa Fulling, a freshman who was brought up to the varsity roster a week earlier after leading the Gymchicks junior varsity to a North District championship, made that roster move pay off in the State Meet with No. 1 overall honors. Fulling totaled 34.4 points, earning a victory in the uneven bars competition with a score of 8.55.

"I can't take any credit for Tessa's accomplishments; she received excellent training during her elementary school days from (gymnastics instructor) Pam Wright," Jumper stated. "During her second year in our program, when she reached the eighth grade, I began pushing her harder even though I really didn't have to. Tessa is driven from within; I don't believe she faced any more pressure at the State Meet than she puts on herself every day just trying to get better. I'm sure there was some pressure there; after all, it's the State Meet. But it wasn't something she couldn't handle."

Samantha Hayes, a junior, was almost as solid in the overall as Fulling, finishing No. 2 in the standings with a 33.45. Hayes was second in the vault with a 9, and claimed third in both the floor exercise (8.75) and uneven bars (7.8).

"Samantha has turned into an incredible athlete for us, and there isn't much than she can't do," added Jumper. "The gymnast she has become today as opposed to what she was like the first day of practice as a

seventh-grader, well, there's just no comparison."

In the days leading up to the State Meet, Jumper praised the contributions of her seniors, and a couple of them earned top 10 finishes in the individual events. Caitlyn Jones finished seventh on the uneven bars with a7.45, and Caitlin Diaz was ninth on the balance beam with a 7.825.

"I could never say enough about our seniors," Jumper continued. "They have done everything that was asked of them all season, and so much more. We needed their individual scores at this meet as much as we needed anyone else's.

"When Tessa joined the varsity roster for the State Meet, everyone welcomed her with open arms. There was no resentfulness of any kind. Everyone had great attitudes about it because they knew Tessa was going to help us, and that frame of mind started with the example set by our seniors."

Jumper claimed that she "had no clue" how the Gymchicks were faring in the standing while the competitions continued. "I gave that up years ago," she said. "I learned a long time ago that it does no good to worry like that.

"But I will say that near the end of the meet, when our girls were still competing in the floor exercise, I happened to look at the coach of one of the other teams. Just looking at the expression on her face, I could tell she was not happy; she looked quite concerned. But after the meet was over, every one of the coaches seemed very happy for us and congratulated us. I even received some phone calls Saturday from coaches calling to congratulate us on our performance.

"In fact, one Monticello father caught me after the meet to congratulate me for what our girls accomplished. He was very happy for us, and that is one of my favorite memories of the entire day."

Jumper had equal praise for the meet's judges and employees of the Blytheville and Osceola school districts for helping to make the event so successful. "The judges seemed to have such good chemistry with one another, and the ways they scored each event were consistent all afternoon," she added. "The coaches from each team seemed comfortable with everything related to the competition.

"Our district's Maintenance employees were fantastic, seeing to it that everything was taken care of in a timely way. Coach (David) Hixson made certain the coaches and gymnasts had everything they needed, and I thank Mr. (Richard) Atwill for his help with the meet." Jumper also expressed her appreciation to the Osceola School District for making available the surface used by the gymnasts during the floor exercise.

cnsports@blythevillecourier.com