Second Year of EHS Gymnastics Program Off to Strong Start

Two years ago, athletic director Kevin Smith was approached about the possibility of adding gymnastics to the sports offerings at Enumclaw High School.

It appeared to have plenty of potential and once he hired a top-flight coach in Ben Skipworth for the program, it took off in year one with the team finishing second in the state at the Class 2A/3A meet.

"As I worked with the parents in 2009-10, it was very clear that Enumclaw High School had very talented and skilled gymnasts," Smith said. "We were also lucky to hire Ben as our coach. ... They just needed us to welcome and support them as a new sport."

This year, the girls have already begun to build on their achievements from last year, achieving both higher scoring and wins over 3A rival Auburn Mountainview, and knocking off Class 4A powerhouse Thomas Jefferson in a quad meet at Auburn High School last Wednesday with a very impressive 173.75 score to win the meet by nearly three points.

One factor for the team's success so far is that every gymnast from last season returned, except for graduated seniors Kelsey Messer and Sarah Lurry.

"Having so many of the same girls back helps the group bond," said coach Skipworth. "They come in and are already a team instead of just getting to know each other and not working as a team."

Though leaders Messer and Lurry are gone, "The transition was not bad although the girls miss them," he said. We have two other girls (Emily Berte and Maddison Ward) to make up for them score wise."

Ward, on Wednesday night won the uneven bars event with a 9.10 and finished third overall in the all-around with a 35.50 just behind sophomore Olivia Bannerot who came in second with a 36.50 in the all-around competition.

Another key component to Enumclaw's success according to Skipworth is the commitment to get better. "We have improved on every meet so far so I would say we are doing good and learning from any errors that we made," he said.

He's also been able to build on last year's experiences as the coach of a first-year team. "It is easier knowing what we are getting into; last year we were finding things out as we went."

This year's team is led by Bannerot, who finished fifth at the state meet in the all-around last year along with Molly Mattheis; both were identified by the Seattle Times as 'Gymnasts to watch' prior to the start of the season.

"I think the team is really strong this year and we have a lot of depth in each event," Skipworth said. "The first few meets have been fun with lots of energy but there is always room to improve. Kelsey (Messer) and Sarah (Lurry) are tough leaders to follow but our team leaders are just as driven and supportive this year."

Enumclaw returns to competition after the Christmas holiday on Wednesday January 4, 2012 at Bonney Lake High School - start time is 7 p.m.