SHORELINE — This time last year Alie Hofmann was preparing for her first state gymnastics meet all by her lonesome.
This year, she’s got some company.
Hofmann and four of her Shorewood teammates spent a portion of their mid-winter vacation polishing their routines for this week’s Class 4A state championships.
“If I have to be here early in the morning when I’m on break, it’s nice to have other people here with me,” Hofmann said during a Tuesday morning workout.
Highlighting an impressive team showing by the Thunderbirds, Hofmann qualified for state in three events at last weekend’s regional meet.
She placed 10th in bars and beam and 11th in vault at the Feb. 14 seven-team showcase at Sammamish High School and finished with the 12th best all-around total.
“It went real well. I didn’t mess anything up, which is very good,” Hofmann said. “A lot of the competition was really, really good. It was a lot harder to make it (to state) than last year.”
Hofmann isn’t overly concerned with wowing the judges at the state meet. Getting to the Tacoma Dome for the second year in a row was her primary goal.
“I don’t really care if I do well, score well, place well,” she said. “I’m just glad to be there because it’s fun.”
Shorewood’s four remaining qualifiers are making their first state appearance.
Senior Rachel Silverstein landed a berth with her floor exercise, junior Kelsey Wright is advancing in vault and freshman Elle MacGeorge and senior Lindsay Christianson qualified on bars.
“They’re genuinely proud of themselves and how they competed,” Shorewood coach Susan Riley said.
The foursome make up the largest contingent of Shorewood gymnasts to qualify for state since 1995-96, when Shorewood and Shorecrest competed as a combined squad.
“There were a lot of people who had a chance to go to state,” Hofmann said. “Everyone performed really well.”
Kingco 4A champion Redmond (174.225 points) claimed the team title along with its first state berth and Roosevelt (170.5) edged Woodinville (170.15) for the other team berth.
The T-birds (161) finished fourth in the final team standings.
“I was so proud of them,” Riley said. “They went out there, cheered each other on, tried new skills and had a ton of fun.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.