Her ascension has been gradual. But make no mistake, Kent-Meridian gymnast Nora Keith is certainly on her way up.<\/p>\n
And she wants to keep it that way this winter.<\/p>\n
A three-time state participant, the 5-foot-1, 17-year-old Royal has big aspirations this season, and understandably so. Keith has done just about everything on the vault at the state level. She took 10th as a freshman, improved three spots to seventh as a sophomore and brought home an impressive third-place finish last winter as a junior.<\/p>\n
And now?<\/p>\n
Keith wants the gold.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would mean the world to me (to win the state title),\u201d Keith said. \u201cI have worked so hard all four years. There just always seems to be something in the way. I am hoping this is finally my year.\u201d<\/p>\n
If the pint-sized Royal can pull off the feat, she would become Kent-Meridian\u2019s first state champion in the sport since 1987, when Sue Phinney captured the vault title.<\/p>\n
A year earlier, Suanne Wales won the all-around title along with the bars and floor exercise, a performance that helped K-M bring home the team crown. Since that run more than 20 years ago, Kent-Meridian hasn\u2019t seen many gymnasts of Keith\u2019s caliber.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s a leader academically and athletically. She\u2019s just a great kid,\u201d said Kent-Meridian coach Rachel Watanabe. \u201cI wish I could have a whole team of kids like her.\u201d<\/p>\n
The possibility of winning a state title has crossed Keith\u2019s mind a time or two as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve thought about it on countless occasions. It would really be the cherry on top of my high school career,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
It has been a career marked by success, but also leadership. This winter, Keith is the lone senior on a young Royal team. As such, she does nearly as much coaching these days as she does tumbles, turns, twists and flips.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, it will be the final turn and twist that pushes her ascension to an all-time high.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a level Watanabe wouldn\u2019t be surprised to see Keith reach.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think she got a taste of what first place might feel like last year,\u201d Watanabe said. \u201cYou never know what every team is going to bring at state. You have to make sure you\u2019re up to the competition value. You have to have a \u2018wow\u2019 factor. I think she has the potential to (win state) on vault this year. She\u2019s got the drive to get it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve got the numbers. Plenty of talent, too.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s still considerable work ahead for the Kentlake High gymnastics team en route to defending its South Puget Sound League North Division crown.<\/p>\n
Considerable road blocks, too.<\/p>\n
The Falcons, coming off the best season in the school\u2019s history that included an unblemished 19-0 record and a second-place finish at the Class 4A state meet, might have the most potential of any team in this year\u2019s revamped SPSL North. However, to realize that potential, the Falcons are going to have to work through some early season adversity.<\/p>\n
During the first week of the season, Kentlake lost standout and state veteran Becca Peterson to a broken right ankle. Peterson was injured during an awkward land.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t anything new or spectacular,\u201d said Kentlake coach Marla Boyd. \u201cShe just landed hard and a little bit crooked on that right ankle.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all bummed, including her. But the most important thing is that she\u2019s OK.\u201d<\/p>\n
The injury put dent into the Kentlake lineup, which graduated stars Brianne Gould and Kayla Shira, last year\u2019s Class 4A all-around state champion. Despite being down three state competitors, talent remains in abundance for the Falcons. Leading the way is junior Lynnsey Thielman, who took seventh at state on the balance beam two years ago and who was an integral part of last season\u2019s Falcon squad. Also back in fold are Katie Steckler, Brenna Bickel and Jenae Long, all of whom saw considerable action with the varsity last season. Steckler took 34th at state last year in the all-around.<\/p>\n
All four of the girls have what it takes to advance to this year\u2019s state meet, Boyd said. The focus for now, however, revolves around improvement.<\/p>\n
The Falcons also should get a boost from freshman Melissa Albert, who already has demonstrated a strong floor and vault routine.<\/p>\n
All that talent aside, however, couldn\u2019t help Kentlake overcome Jefferson in the season opener. The Raiders nipped the Falcons 156.5-152.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey weren\u2019t very happy that they didn\u2019t win their first meet. I think that they were getting a little complacent with their workouts,\u201d Boyd said. \u201cI don\u2019t think their performance was anywhere near where their potential is. Everything is just going to depend on how they train.\u201d<\/p>\n
If all breaks right, the Falcons should be cracking the 160-point barrier before too long, which would put them back in contention for a league crown.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to get into the 160s and the girls would like to contend for the division, but they have a lot of work in front of them to do that,\u201d Boyd said. \u201cRight now, We\u2019re just trying to increase our level of difficulty and realize that every point counts.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
He\u2019s back.<\/p>\n
After assisting for several years, Kentwood gymnastics coach Bob Fenton is returning to a familiar role. Fenton, who guided the Conquerors to Class 4A state titles in 2001 and 2002 and who is a member of the Washington State Gym Coaches Association Hall of Fame, is returning to the helm of the program he helped reach prominence.<\/p>\n
Fenton, who guided the Conquerors from 1997-2002, is taking over for Anne Diaz, who stepped down after last season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never went away,\u201d jokes Fenton about the minor role change. \u201cI guess they couldn\u2019t find a coach, so said I\u2019d do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kentwood graduated state veteran Jamie Larson and standout Alex Perez, but certainly have the numbers available to find a couple key gymnasts to fill the voids. In fact, Fenton is keeping 30 gymnasts on this year\u2019s roster, a number that is relatively high for the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a lot of kids to keep, it really is,\u201d Fenton said. \u201cBut, you want to develop them for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
That future likely will consist of freshman Megan Lee, who\u2019s shown a solid all-around ability thus far.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe could be in the top 15 by the end of the season,\u201d Fenton noted.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Conquerors have a solid selection of juniors and seniors from which to choose as well, including: juniors Jordan Johnson (all-around), Alana Davis (vault, bars), Alison Wattles (all-around), Rainee Tervol (bar, vault) along with seniors Hannah Swanson (all-around), Bonnie Chow (floor, vault) and Carolina Garces (all-around).<\/p>\n
Kentwood lost its opener to Kentridge and Tahoma, registering 141.4 points, but reaching 150 is a possibility \u2014 and a goal \u2014 the coach said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as they stay with it, we can make something out of it,\u201d Fenton noted.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
SPSL NORTH AT A GLANCE<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 FAVORITES:<\/b> Jefferson, Beamer.<\/p>\n
\u2022 CONTENDERS:<\/b> KL, Kentridge, Tahoma.<\/p>\n
\u2022 SLEEPER:<\/b> Federal Way.<\/p>\n
\u2022 LEAGUE OUTLOOK:<\/b> Kentlake cruised to last year\u2019s title, going 19-0 for the season and finishing second at state, but the Falcons will be hard pressed to repeat as standouts Brianne Gould and Kayla Shira graduated while junior state veteran Becca Peterson broke her ankle last week. The Falcons are still plenty deep to challenge, but as things stood entering Wednesday night\u2019s slate of SPSL North meets, Beamer was the frontrunner. Beamer served up 166.85 points in its first meet of the season, knocking off Federal Way (148.55), Decatur (138.9) and North Thurston (132.1). Kentlake has what it takes to get into the 160s as does Kentridge and Jefferson, but getting well beyond that and catching Beamer in the process will be a tall order. … As is the case in many sports, the SPSL North was shuffled up in gymnastics this season and includes the four schools from both the Kent and Federal Way School Districts along with Tahoma. … Kentwood enjoyed a big turnout this winter and will be keeping 30 gymnasts on its roster. … Kent-Meridian\u2019s Nora Keith is the North Division\u2019s top-returning gymnast as she took third in the vault last year. Keith is the lone senior on a Royal team that includes 13 total gymnasts. … With Beth Vanden Heuvel, McKenzie Johnson and Amelia Carpenter back in fold, Kentridge returns enough talent to finish among the top three in the North.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
NORTH AVERAGES<\/b><\/p>\n
TEAM<\/b>\t\tSCORE<\/b><\/p>\n
1. Jefferson\t\t160.175<\/p>\n
2. Beamer\t\t156.200<\/p>\n
3. Kentlake\t\t155.250<\/p>\n
4. Kentridge\t\t152.350<\/p>\n
5. Tahoma\t\t151.050<\/p>\n
6. Federal Way\t146.875<\/p>\n
7. Decatur\t\t141.800<\/p>\n
8. Kent-Meridian \t141.750<\/p>\n
9. Kentwood\t\t141.150<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Her ascension has been gradual. But make no mistake, Kent-Meridian gymnast Nora Keith is certainly on her way up.
\nAnd she wants to keep it that way this winter.
\nA three-time state participant, the 5-foot-1, 17-year-old Royal has big aspirations this season, and understandably so. Keith has done just about everything on the vault at the state level. She took 10th as a freshman, improved three spots to seventh as a sophomore and brought home an impressive third-place finish last winter as a junior.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":17113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-17112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17112"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17112"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=17112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}