Fort Collins – There must be some sort of magic potion in the Cache la Poudre River.
A 1-2 finish by teams from Fort Collins at the Class 5A state gymnastics meet last season suggests it. Rocky Mountain’s victory in 2004 marked the third time since 2000 the Lobos have won the crown and the fourth time in five years the Choice City was home to the state champions. Fort Collins won in 2002.
“We have two very good club teams up here, and the club coaches are good about letting those girls compete for their high schools,” said Fort Collins coach Laura Hunter, who competed for Poudre in high school. “I know in Denver, a lot of club coaches say if you do high school gymnastics, you can’t be on their team.
“They grow them for us, and we as high school coaches just get to play with them.”
Said first-year Rocky Mountain coach Audra Peterson, “Girls see the success that the high school teams have, and they just want to do that.”
The beneficiary of the city’s talent this year again is Rocky Mountain, featuring a deep senior class.
Dayna Lewis (fifth in the all-around at the 2004 state meet) and Kate Belford (sixth) are joined by fellow seniors Jenn Shaw, Danielle Phebus, Rachel Bauder, Melissa McGoffin and Chelsea Bidgood.
“We know the target is on our backs, but that puts the onus on the girls,” Peterson said. “The whole goal is to go out not only in meets but in practice and just have fun.”
The top three finishers in last year’s all-around graduated, including Loveland’s Paige Schuster, who will compete for the University of Denver this fall. That opens the door for Fort Collins’ Jen Bartlett, who finished fourth last season.
“I don’t feel like a lot of eyes are going to be on me,” said Bartlett, who returns to the gym after a nine-month absence because of stress factures in her back. “My favorite events are beam and vault, and if I could win anything it would be one of those. All-around would be nice, though.”
Fort Collins, whose team also includes athletes from city teams Poudre and Fossil Ridge, is not nearly as deep as Rocky Mountain but has the talent to compete.
Seniors Katie Barstow, Aziza Syed and underclassmen Molly Dunkle, Rachel Brueggen and Any Sunderman give the Lambkins a fighting chance.
In 4A, coach Rick Kaiser’s Sterling Tigers are favored to win their fourth consecutive title and seventh since 1995.
The Tigers graduated just one senior from last year’s team and return seniors Kylee Dillon, Holly Brandt, Traci Nolan and Brianna Selvidge. Juniors Lyndsey Meier (third on the beam) and Michelle Chapman give the Tigers depth.
Pueblo Central senior Dani Musso won the uneven bars in 2004 and finished second in the all-around.
Pueblo Central and South Central League rival Cañon City should fill out the top three teams, following Sterling.
Jon E. Yunt can be reached at 303-820-5446 or jyunt@denverpost.com.
