PORT McNEILL—At least 10 North Island Secondary School gymnasts will advance to the provincial high school championship meet after qualifying in last week’s Upper Island Zone championships in Comox.
The provincial meet takes place March 6-8 at Dover Bay Secondary in Nanaimo.
NISS sent 17 athletes to the zone meet and all of them brought home at least one placing ribbon.
Chance McClendon, Dexter Lash-Burrows and James Bramham went 1-2-3 in Level 1 boys competition and all advanced to provincials. The boys’ haul might have been bigger, but fifth-year team member Lennox Brown, a two-time top-seven finisher at provincials, missed the zone meet due to injury.
For the girls, Sarrah Moore, Natasha Estlin, Bessy Prevost and Hannah Sadler all had top-3 overall finishes to lead a 14-member contingent.
“We have so many new kids; I usually don’t have that many girls,” longtime NISS gymnastics coach Joy Zwicker said. “Of the 14 who went to zones, 11 are new.”
Moore placed third among Level 2 girls, and will be joined at Provincials by Dayna Moore (no relation), who placed fifth. Estlin was second in Level 1 senior girls and Prevost and Sadler tied for third in the Level 1 senior group to qualify.
The largest NISS group competed in the Level 1 junior girls division. They were led by provincial qualifiers Miranda Estlin, in fourth overall, and Hope McClendon, in fifth.
Zwicker said as many as three more gymnasts could potentially qualify, through a petition process, depending how their scores rank against other zone competitors and available spots in the meet. They include Shayla Beattie in Level 1 senior girls and Aija Nelson and Molly Lash-Burrows in Level 1 junior girls.
GYMNASTICS
Upper Island Zone High School Championships
North Island Secondary School results
Level 2 girls
Overall: 3. Sarrah Moore, 42.40 points; 5. Dayna Moore, 41.20. Vault: 4. S. Moore, 10.55; 5. D. Moore, 9.55. Uneven parallel bars: 3. (tie) S. Moore and D. Moore, 8.70. Balance beam: 4. D. Moore, 10.80; 5. S. Moore, 10.65. Floor exercise: 1. S. Moore, 12.50; 3. D. Moore, 11.75.
Level 1 senior girls
Overall: 2. Natasha Estlin, 44.85; 3. (tie) Bessy Prevost and Hannah Sadler, 44.35; 6. Shayla Beattie, 39.70. Vault: 4. Prevost, 10.20; 5. Sadler, 9.80; 6. N. Estlin, 9.60; 7. Beattie, 9.65. Bars: 1. Prevost, 11.85; 2. Sadler, 11.70; 3. N. Estlin, 11.55; 7. Beattie, 9.00. Beam: 1. N. Estlin, 12.25; 3. Beattie, 11.60; 4. Sadler, 11.40; 6. Prevost, 10.40. Floor exercise: 2. Prevost, 11.90; 5 (tie) N. Estlin and Sadler, 11.45; 7. Beattie, 10.45.
Level 1 junior girls
Overall: 4. Miranda Estlin, 43.75; 5. Hope McClendon, 43.60; 7. Aija Nelson, 42.85; 9. Molly Lash-Burrows, 42.55; 10. Lexi Chapman, 41.90; 13. Shania Walkus, 36.90; 14. Emily Triebwasser, 33.15; 15. Shelby Wilson, 31.05. Vault: 8. M. Estlin, 9.80; 9. McClendon, 9.75; 10. Nelson, 9.60; 11. Lash-Burrows, 9.40; 12. Chapman, 9.10; 13. Walkus, 8.85; 14. Triebwasser, 8.60; 16. Wilson, 4.00. Bars: 2. McClendon, 11.65; 7. Chapman, 10.85; 8. Lash-Burrows, 10.75; 9. Nelson, 10.45; 11. M. Estlin, 9.70; 12. Walkus, 8.90; 13. Wilson, 8.50; 15. Triebwasser, 5.20. Beam: 1. M. Estlin, 12.30; 4. McClendon, 11.70; 5. Chapman, 11.60; 7. Nelson, 11.15; 8. Lash-Burrows, 11.00; 11. Walkus, 10.10; 12. Triebwasser, 9.90; 15. Wilson, 8.10. Floor exercise: 2 (tie), M. Estlin, 11.95; 3. Nelson, 11.65; 4 (tie) Lash-Burrows, 11.40; 7. McClendon, 10.50; 8. Wilson, 10.45; 9. Chapman, 10.35; 10. Triebwassser, 9.45; 12. Walkus, 9.05.
Level 1 boys
Overall: 1. Chance McClendon, 61.8; 2. Dexter Lash-Burrows, 59.6; 3. James Bramham, 57.7. Floor exercise: 1. Lash-Burrows, 10.50; 2. Bramham, 10.20; 3. McClendon, 10.05. Pommel horse: 2. McClendon, 10.10; 3. Lash-Burrows, 9.50; 5. Bramham, 9.20. Rings: 1. Bramham, 10.35; 2. McClendon, 10.25; 4. Lash-Burrows, 9.10. Vault: 2. McClendon, 11.25; 3. Lash-Burrows, 11.15; 5. Bramham, 9.05. Parallel bars: 1. McClendon, 10.45; 2. Lash-Burrows, 9.45; 3. Bramham, 9.40. Horizontal bar: 1. Lash-Burrows, 9.90 2. McClendon, 9.70; 3. Bramham, 9.50.