THORNTON — Marilyn Price has company. Next year, Hannah Bower hopes to stand alone.
Bower, a junior from Loveland, became Colorado’s first three-time high school all-around gymnastics champion at Friday night’s Class 5A meet since Price accomplished the feat from 1976-78 for Steamboat Springs.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Bower said when notified she was the state’s second three-time champion and the first in the large-school classification. “I was able to do it without (participating in club gymnastics the first half of this year) and keep my skills up.”
And No. 3 was easier for Bower than it should have been, with virtually every top finisher from last year’s meet returning to challenge her.
But the one who figured to be her toughest competition, Fort Collins sophomore Michelle Tharp, couldn’t mount a challenge. Tharp, the runner-up to Bower at state last year but the winner last week in their regional, fell off the balance beam, her third event of the day, and wound up sixth at 38.225.
Bower, meanwhile, scored a solid 9.65 on the beam in her first rotation, then finished with a 9.775 on uneven bars, 9.75 in floor exercise and 9.775 in the vault for a total score of 38.95. That put Bower 0.45 points ahead of Thompson Valley senior Gentry Knaub and Pine Creek junior Kristin Milardo at 38.5. Knaub won a tiebreaker for second place.
Tharp fell out of contention after falling from the beam – her third event of the day – and also finished behind Green Mountain senior Kelly Stone (38.425) and senior Aditi Kulkarni (38.375), who led a strong Bear Creek contingent to its first team title since 1997.
Tharp beat Bower 38.25-38.05 in regionals, but Bower said she was undaunted heading into state.
“Not at all,” Bower replied when asked if she felt pressure in her attempt for a three-peat. “I knew what I needed to do. I like not being perfect for regionals, so I knew what I had to work on.”
That was the balance beam, although Tharp fell during the event last week.
“It really comes down to who hits the beam, and we were looking to get the beam first,” Loveland coach Wendy Thompson said. “That’s where Hannah struggled the most this week, but she pulled it off.”
It didn’t hurt that Tharp fell again on the beam in the third rotation and that Bower came into the meet with the state’s best scores this season in floor exercise and vault.
“Even though (Tharp) fell, I still had one more event to do,” Bower said. “It was definitely a relief, but I wanted to win with everyone hitting 4-for-4.”
All of the top six did, except for Tharp on the beam, where she captured an individual title last year. Fort Collins coach Laura Slocum said Tharp crashed in the past week while practicing on the uneven bars and bruised a heel. She fell Friday doing a backflip, which has been part of her beam routine all year.
Bower was happiest for fellow Loveland resident Knaub, who was third last year in all-around and second in floor exercise.
Knaub was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in January.
“All season I’ve been learning to control it,” Knaub said.
Bower won her third title despite taking a half-year off from gymnastics to participate in track and field for Loveland last spring. She ran on all four state-qualifying relay teams.
“I definitely got a lot stronger and more powerful,” Bower said of her track experience.
Bear Creek kept the team championship in the Jefferson County League for the second straight year, unseating 2006 champion Green Mountain.
Team scores
Bear Creek 184, Green Mountain 182.925, Broomfield 181.1, Overland 179.625, Chatfield 179.4, Fort Collins 177.75, Ponderosa 177.1, Doherty 175.75, Arvada West 175.7, Loveland 175.325, Pine Creek 174.725, Rampart 172.425.
All-around
Hannah Bower, Loveland, 38.950; Gentry Knaub,
Thompson Valley, 38.5; Kristin Milardo, Pine Creek, 38.5; Kelly Stone, Green Mountain, 38.450; Aditi Kulkarni, Bear Creek, 38.375; Michelle Tharp, Fort Collins, 38.225; Karin Schwarz, Chatfield, 37.825; Alie Bowen, Green Mountain, 37.775.
