Senior Crystal Bugai tops the lineup for the Shorewood gymnastics team this season.
Bugai, who qualified for state in the uneven bars as a sophomore, competes in all four events: the bars, vault, balance beam and floor exercise.
Bugai’s routine is more difficult than last year, with the floor exercise her best event, coach Susan Riley said.
“She shows off and has fun with it,” Riley said of Bugai’s floor routine.
A return to state for Bugai would be great, Riley said, but it has become an extremely difficult challenge the last two years.
Shorewood is in a district with the KingCo 4A schools including Woodinville, the defending 4A state champions and Bothell, another powerhouse. The top 11 in each event qualify for state and with Woodinville and Bothell’s club-gymnast-dominated teams, few gymnasts from other schools ace them out.
“It’s next to impossible to have high school girls who just do high school qualify,” Riley said. Shorewood doesn’t have any year-round gymnasts.
The Thunderbirds have two other solid all-around gymnasts.
Senior Allison Sherris, a co-captain with Bugai, does all four events with the vault her best event. Freshman Tyanna DeNova also competes in all four events with the bars her fortè.
Shorewood has 17 gymnasts out and 10 on varsity.
The team lost its top gymnast, Elle MacGeorge, to graduation.
“That was a big loss,” Riley said.
The vault is the strongest event for the T-birds overall and the bars is also “unusually strong,” Riley said.
In a meet against Bainbridge Dec. 14, Bugai finished second with the all-around to Shorecrest’s Megan Farris-Maycock.
Bugai won the bars with a score of 7.2, finished fourth in the floor with a 8.5 and was fourth in the vault with an 8.3. Allison Sherris tied for first with Ferris-Maycock in the vault with a score of 8.45.
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