by Keeley Haynes
Go to a Mountain Range football game and a common phrase you will hear the crowd serenading the cheerleaders with is “Do a flip!”, but when it comes to the team that is ranked second in the state for doing flips, the girls are often overlooked and their meets lack fans. After achieving a high score of 178.15 and totaling an impressive five first-place finishes during the regular season, the 2021-2022 fall season has once again proven that Mountain Range’s gymnastics team is worthy of attention and deserves celebration.
Let’s break down what the journey to regionals looked like for Mountain Range this year.
Key Info
Coach: Diane Clark
Manager: Morgan Mestaz
State Ranking: 2nd in 5A Conference
Postseason: Conference and Regionals
Overall Performance:
The Mountain Range gymnasts continued their success from 2020 by championing Rocky Mountain, Loveland, Fort Morgan, Lone Star, Niwot, Roosevelt, and Thornton both at home and on the road. In addition to dominating dual and tri meets, the team placed second at both the intensely competitive Loveland and Overland Invites, third at the Broomfield Invite, and fourth at the Think Pink Invite. The Mustangs’ biggest competition? The Broomfield Eagles. The top-ranked team has bested Mountain Range only by a maximum of four points and was severely threatened after the Mustangs scored a 172.55 at the Broomfield Tri-meet, which pressured Broomfield’s 172.6.
Mountain Range placed evenly in about every individual event but still seemed to excel at the vault and the bars. The girls racked up four first-place finishes in both of the individual categories and averaged a score of 9.3 on vault and 8.9 on bars. Impressively, despite the limited wins, the average score on floor was 9.4, which proves itself a strength for Mountain Range as
well. It was revealed that the beam is a weaker spot for the team this season. The average score was 9.2, but because the beam is a more competitive event, the gymnasts were only able to place first twice this season.
Award Winners:
MVP: Kassie Chapman
Kassie Chapman (‘22) placed first all-around twice at the Loveland and Broomfield Tri meets. She also placed second All-Around at the Rocky Mountain dual meet and third All-Around at the Niwot and Thronton meets. Her best score this season was 36.1 and her average score was 34, which means she attained about 8.5 points per event. The Legacy senior found her element on the beam, scoring a stellar 9.45 on Senior Night against Thronton.
Best on vault: Madeline Dominico
Up-and-coming Mountain Range sophomore, Madeline “Mads” Dominico came out on top in the individual vault event three times this season. Her top score was 9.45, but the rising star promises growth as she is only a sophomore and has the next two years to improve her technique and skill.
Best on bars: Kenna Crookham
Kenna Crookham, a senior from Holy Family, gave a 9.25-scoring performance at the Rocky Mountain dual meet, which earned her first place on bars. She also conquered the competition from Loveland with an 8.5 and came in third on her honorary Senior Night against Thornton.
Best on beam: Madeline Dominico
The vault isn’t her only specialty! Madeline Dominico (‘24) placed first in the beam event with a score of 9.3, proving that nothing could throw her off balance at the dual meet against Loveland.
Best on floor: Jenna Bossi
Jenna Bossi’s stunning floor routines reaped a notable two first placements at the Rocky Mountain dual meet and the Lone Star and Fort Morgan tri-meet. Even the Mountain Range senior herself was impressed with her scores, explaining that “the highest scores [she] received were a 9.4 and a 9.5, which averaged to a 9.45” when asked what she was most proud of this season.
What’s Next?
After competing and placing second at the Front Range League Championships, Mountain Range’s star gymnasts are off to Regionals located in the Mountain Range Gym on October 29th at 2 PM. The girls are working hard to surpass their desired score of 180 and to hopefully snatch the Broomfield Eagles’ number one spot in the state ranking. Because of the incredible progress shown and performance gave these past three months, manager Morgan Mestaz is incredibly proud, stating, “The girls have done awesome this year!”. No matter the outcome at these next competitions, the memories, friendships, and jokes made this season will outlast any ranking, performance, and score.