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Simmons outscores Sisson

Published November 4, 2006 at midnight

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THORNTON — Anna Simmons and Tera Sisson knew before Saturday's Class 4A state gymnastic meet it could boil down to a battle between the two. And, that's just how it turned out.

Simmons, a freshman from first-year Mountain Range, scored a 38.225 to upend Pueblo Central's Sisson, the defending all-around champion. Sisson scored 37.425.

But while Sisson, a sophomore, did not defend her title, she and teammate Jennifer Rockwell, who was third in the all-around (36.1), delivered the team championship to Pueblo Central. The Wildcats, in their fifth-year of gymnastics under coach Kelly Downs, nipped four-time defending champion Sterling, 175.775-175.375.

Sterling, under coach Rick Kaiser, was also going for its ninth title.

Central, on the other hand, won its second. The Wildcats won in 1978 when the sport was one classification.

Simmons was in command from the start, but was outscored by Sisson on the balance beam, 9.55-9.525. In her other three events, Simmons scored 9.7 on vault, 9.55 on Floor and 9.45 on the bars. Sisson tallied a 9.35 on vault, 9.525 on Floor and 9.0 on the bars.

"This was fun," Simmons said. "Our team and others on other teams were so supportive. My first event (beam) was a little shakey, but the others gave me confidence. One thing I hit well was floor."

Simmons said she will compete next season for Mountain Range, but may not compete her junior year when the school is scheduled to join the 5A ranks.

"I really want to try for a college scholarship and in the junior year there are more club opportunities for college coaches to see you compete outside of high school," Simmons said. "This, of course, could change, but that is the plan right now. I'll be back for my senior year of high school for sure.

I love high school and don't want to be completely away from it."

While Sisson did not win the title, she certainly helped deliver the team championship for Pueblo Central. Going to the Floor, the Wildcats needed to score a 44.6 to win the meet. Sterling had just finished on vault with a 44.7 and all the Tigers could do was watch. When Kelsey Downs scored a 9.05 as the No. 5 girl in the rotation, the pressure fell on Sisson. And, she

delivered.

"I knew it was going to be difficult to win the all-around," Sisson said. "I hyper-extended my knee two weeks ago. All I wanted to do was go out and do my best. I have bruised bone, so I was a bit unsteady."

However, not with out an emotional charge.

"I knew I needed a big score on Floor and I was pumped up," said Sisson, who attends Pueblo South on the five-team co-op, Steel City team. "The pressure gave me a rush of adrenalin. To beat Sterling is a thrill. They have such a

good program."

Kelly Downs had trouble controlling her emotions.

"Overall the girls did a great job," Downs said. "We had our troubles on the bars, but the girls did what they needed to do to win. They've worked hard, they deserve the title."

Sterling's Kaiser felt his Tigers might be able to pull it out in the end.

"We had a strong bars, but at the end of the day, Central outscored us," Kaiser said. "I can't be more proud of the way the kids performed. We have no club gymnasts, just great kids who want to do gymnastics. They are proud

of what they accomplished and I'm extremely proud."

Sterling was led by Lyndsey Meier, who finished fifth in the all-around (35.55) and Erin Krause (9th).

Evergreen's Allison Robinette finished fourth in the all-around (35.6) and Brittany Logan of Mountain Range, sixth (35.4) for fourth-place Mountain Range. The top 15 girls qualified for the Saturday evening finals with what is termed, 'new life'.

Class 4A

Team results: 1. Pueblo Central, 175.775. 2. Sterling, 175.375. 3.

Evergreen, 170.325. 4. Mountain Range, 169.6. 5. Summit, 168.525. 6.

Elizabeth, 163.8. 7. Alamosa, 160.4.

All-around: 1. Anna Simmons, Mountain Range, 38.225. 2. Tera Sisson, Pueblo

Central, 37.425. 3. Jennifer Rockwell, Pueblo Central, 36.1. 4. Allison

Robinette, Evergreen, 35.6. 5. Lyndsey Meier, Sterling, 35.55. 6. Brittany

Logan, Mountain Range, 35.4.