Gymnastics: Liberty District Championships

By Angela Watts
DigitalSports.com

(Look below the story to find dozens of video highlights from Monday’s competition.)

As Langley junior Emily Bullen sat huddled with her teammates on Stone Bridge‘s rigid gym floor, she knew she had a chance to win her first Liberty District individual event championship. The first announcement was for the floor exercise, which she won with a score of 9.425.

When it happened, Bullen said her thought was a simple: “Yes!”

The bigger picture hadn’t even begun to develop.

Then she won the individual title on the vault, too, at 9.400. Bullen said she thought that was great, too. For a minute.

Then she fully realized just how amazing it was.

“I was sitting there and it took a minute, but then I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, I might have won the all-around title, too!’ Bullen said. “It was unreal. I was just so excited. I just came out here tonight wanting to do the best I could. But I had no idea it would end like this.”

It ended, of course, with Bullen claiming her first all-around championship, besting two-time defending all-around champion Caroline Grady of Thomas Jefferson in the process. Grady finished third in the all-around, with W.T. Woodson senior Diane Liskey capturing second and Thomas Jefferson junior Kelly Watson taking fourth.

“It still hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Bullen said. “And Caroline Grady … she’s amazing. It feels extra special to beat her because she is such a great gymnast.”

Grady did win the individual title on the bars with a score of 9.400 and, even better, helped her team capture the Liberty District championship. It proved only the fourth time in the past nine years that Langley, which finished second, did not win the team title. The Saxons won Liberty District championships in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007.

“We are a really deep team,” Grady said. “And I think what separates us from other teams that have one or two club gymnasts is that we have really good people at the four, five and six spots, even. So there are some events where we’re posting scores that are all above an 8.0, which is really good for us. It gives us an opportunity if someone messes up, then there is still the rest of the team ready to go.

“I know that my sophomore year we thought we had a shot at it and my junior year we were going for it again, so it feels good to finally get it. It’s real exciting.”

Grady, on an admitted off night, still managed to place in the top four in three of the four individual events Monday. And quickly the standout senior turned her focus to the upcoming Northern Region meet.

“I’d just like to go out and hit four-for-four, ya know?” she said. “I want to do what I know I’m capable of doing.”

The only other individual winner of the night was Liskey, who scored a meet-best 9.450 on the beam. She was rock-solid on a standing back tuck during her routine, the only competitor to complete the difficult skill.

Still, this night belong to Bullen.

“I didn’t compete every event at every meet this season because I’ve had some back injuries in the past,” Bullen said. “So we were trying to save my back so I’d be able to be at my best by districts … and I guess it worked!”

TEAM SCORES

1. Thomas Jefferson 141.600
2. Langley                137.975
3. Stone Bridge        136.350
4. W.T. Woodson     126.025
5. Madison               113.475
6. South Lakes         107.750
7. McLean                 88.400
8. Marshall                 20.975

INDIVIDUAL EVENTS

ALL-AROUND
1. Emily Bullen, LG, 36.600; 2. Diane Liskey, WT, 36.375; 3. Caroline Grady, TJ, 36.300; 4. Kelly Watson, TJ, 35.850, 5. Morgan Danner, LG, 35.725; 6. Tori Severin, SB, 35.225; 7. Christine Franzel, TJ, 35.175; 8. Amy Fissmer, SB, 33.950; 9. Adrienne Kravitz, WT, 33.550; 10. Toby Brooks, SB, 33.475.

BARS
1. Caroline Grady, TJ, 9.400; 2. Tori Severin, SB, 9.025; 3. Emily Bullen, LG, 8.925; 4. Diane Liskey, WT, 8.825; 5. Kelly Watson, TJ, 8.800; 6. Toby Brooks, SB, 8.725; T7. Adrienne Kravitz, WT, 8.500; T7. Kate Robertson, MD, 8.500; T9. Christine Franzel, TJ, 8.450; T9. Morgan Danner, LG, 8.450.

BEAM
1. Diane Liskey, WT, 9.450; 2. Kelly Watson, TJ, 9.400; 3. Emily Wetzel, TJ, 9.250; 4. Emily Bullen, LG, 8.850; 5. Amy Fissmer, SB, 8.800; 6. Morgan Danner, LG, 8.725; T7. Caroline Grady, TJ, 8.600; T7. Tori Severin, SB, 8.600; 9. Christine Franzel, TJ, 8.575; 10. Caitie Simpson, LG, 8.550.

FLOOR EXERCISE
1. Emily Bullen, LG, 9.425; 2. Morgan Danner, LG, 9.350; 3. Diane Liskey, WT, 9.150; 4. Caroline Grady, TJ, 9.100; 5. Christine Franzel, TJ, 8.900; 6. Kelly Watson, TJ, 8.750; 7. Dana Merwin, SB, 8.600; 8. Amy Fissmer, SB, 8.400; 9. Tori Severin, SB, 8.350; 10. Casey Merwin, SB, 8.300.

VAULT
1. Emily Bullen, LG, 9.400; T2. Tori Severin, SB, 9.250; T2. Christine Franzel, TJ, 9.250; T4. Morgan Danner, LG, 9.200; T4. Caroline Grady, TJ, 9.200; 6. Diane Liskey, WT, 8.950; 7. Kelly Watson, TJ, 8.900; 8. Amanda Gilbert, TJ, 8.825; 9. Caitie Simpson, LG, 8.700; 10. Amy Fissmer, SB, 8.650.