BELLEVUE – At her final high school gymnastics event, Union senior Ella Bettineski wanted to finish strong.
That she did, placing seventh in the all-around competition at the Class 4A state championships on Thursday at Sammamish High School.
With that successful showing, Bettineski extended her prep career by one day. She and teammate Carly Christ were the lone local gymnasts to qualify for Friday’s individual event finals.
“I’m really happy,” Bettineski said. “It was my last meet, being a senior. So I’m really glad to have finished strong.”
Bettineski was her best on the bars. Her score of 9.175 tied for sixth and claimed one of eight spots in Friday’s individual finals.
Christ also reached the all-around podium, finishing eighth. The sophomore finished third on the beam, punching her ticket to Friday.
As a freshman, Christ placed second in state in the vault. What is the key to performing well at the state’s biggest meet?
“I’d just say try not to think too much,” Christ said.
A runner-up the past two years, Camas placed third out for four teams in the all-around competition. The Papermakers’ score of 171.100 was behind champion Sumner (182.550) and second-place Woodinville (176.775), which had its string to two state titles snapped.
Camas senior and district champion Hallie Kempf was her team’s top finisher, placing 10th in the all-around. Delaney Fiscu placed 11th and Kennedy Cody was 16th.
“I think we left a lot out there but we did as good as we could do,” Camas coach Amy Railsback said. “It doesn’t happen every time. The train hard and some days you’re on and some days you’re off. We had a couple off spots this time, but they still did great.”
Kempf finished ninth in the floor, narrowly missing qualifying for Friday’s individual event final. That meant the end of Kempf’s successful prep career, which saw her place fifth in the all-around as a sophomore and earn top-eight placings in two individual events last year.
“She is an amazing leader,” Railsback said. “She really embodies what you want in a team leader. Hard worker. Focused. We’re going to really miss her.”
CLASS 4A STATE GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Sammamish High School, Bellevue
Team scores – 1, Sumner 182.550; 2, Woodinville 176.775; 3, Camas 171.100; 4, Mount Si 169.325.
All-Around
(Top three and locals)
1, Joseline Abundis (Federal Way) 37.150; 2, Madisen Sorensen (Sumner) 367.900; 3, Emily Brouwers (Woodinville) 36.750; 7, Ella Bettineski (Union) 36.250; 8, Carly Christ (Union) 36.050; 10, Hallie Kempf (Camas) 35.900; 11, Delaney Fiscu (Camas) 35.000; 16, Kennedy Cody (Camas) 33.350; 29, Sneha Shankar (Camas) 25.350; 33, Natalia Warren (Union) 23.975; 52, Ella Allum (Camas) 16.925; 57, Molly Kerr (Camas) 13.925; 69, Alyssa Palomo (Camas) 8.400; 72, Karina Cooper 8.300; 79, Srija Dangal (Camas) 7.875; 80, Presley Jones (Camas) 7.725; 81, Avery Bettin (Camas) 7.450.
