Fairwood Girls' Gymnastics Hit Highs
This Season

It would be completely understandable if one would be completely intimidated if a gymnast were a part of an extremely modest, eight-person team facing an opposing (or imposing) team of 50.

In fact, the entire season may have seemed a bit daunting.

But, the Lindbergh Gymnastics team looked beyond those numbers and faced those odds. The stats showed that the numbers didn't matter.

The Lindbergh girls finished the season undefeated, a first for the team in over ten years. Lindbergh's Maggie O'Connor has coached the team for four years, so she's been with many of the girls since they came to the school in ninth grade and seen their progress over the years.

Lindbergh Stand Outs
While every team member is important, especially when you are a team of eight, Lindbergh's team has three particularly strong team members this season, consistently placing at the top in every meet.

Senior Louise Baker, Senior Christine Yamaguchi, and Sophomore Aleyna Yamaguchi all have consistently scored at the top, resulting in their undefeated Seamount League record.

The Seamount Championships were extremely close, with the 50-member Mount Rainier team edging out Lindbergh for the top spot by less than two points.

Baker was at the top of her game, taking First in All-Around. "Louise is really determined," said O'Connor. "If she has a mishap, she's already on top of it. She's very self-motivated and determined."

Baker has been a stand-out, making it to State the last three years. She placed Second in Bars and Third in Floor this year, resulting in an All-Around Fourth Place title in District. This qualified Baker again to compete at State this year. At the 3A State Championships, Baker captured 14th in All-Around. Additional stats are below.

Strength in Sisters
One of the key contributors to the success of the Yamaguchi sisters is their work as a team. "Christine and Aleyna really work well together. They really help each other out," said O'Connor. "They're the two nicest people."

Aleyna and Christine took Fourth and Fifth Places in All-Around at the League Championships, major contributors to the close race to come as close as they did to capturing the League title. Both also ade it to State.

Overall, the Yamaguchi sisters' contributions, along with Baker's, contributed to capturing the fifth spot at District. Additional stats for State are below. Team member Jami Kouba also made it to State in Beam.

A Little Friendly Competition
O'Connor felt a little friendly competition with Kennedy High School because the school shares a piece of her personal history.

Prior to coaching at Lindbergh, O'Connor was a part of the Kennedy gymnastics team, a 2001 graduate.

"It felt really nice to beat them during league," chuckled O'Connor.

As a coach, O'Connor keeps her schedule full, also coaching the Junior Olympics Team.

Fairwood's Dittmar Competes at Kennedy
Charlotte Dittmar, a Kennedy stand-out, is also a local Fairwood-area neighbor and a former club teammate of Baker.

Before switching to Kennedy High, Freshman Dittmar attended Carriage Crest Elementary and Northwood Middle School.

Dittmar's record is impressive, going undefeated in All-Around during league competition.

Dittmar and Baker have consistently placed in the top spots, with Dittmar capturing Second in All-Around at the League Championships and Seventh at District.

Other Stand-Outs
In the 4A State Championships, Kentlake High School's Team captured Second Place, with Kayla Shira taking First in All-Around, Bars and Floor. Kentwood's Jamie Larsen took Fourth in All-Around.

State Ranks (138 Gymnasts)

Athlete	All-Around	Bars	Beam	Floor	Vault
Baker	14	10	25	20	28
C. Yamaguchi	41	39	34	71	51
A. Yamaguchi	44	55	43	64	45
Dittmar	18	18	17	30	14

Responses to
"Fairwood Gymnastics"

March 2, 2009 - 3:03 pm
Gym Mom said: Congratulations girls! You have worked so hard this season and your families are very proud of you!!

Fairwood Girls' Gymnastics Hit Highs This Season