Warrior gymnasts sixth in CIF - Sandoval second on optional bars, beam

Fallbrook High School’s gymnastics team placed sixth at the CIF meet May 16 at Westview High School.

“Isn’t that awesome?” said Fallbrook coach Debbie Mericle. “We were stoked.”

The Warriors’ 195.5 points placed them behind Torrey Pines, West Hills, Mount Carmel, Steele Canyon, and Westview. Fallbrook did not compete in the optional floor event, depriving the Warriors of any points for that event. Westview had a total of 204.075 points, including 9.325 points from Tina Lu’s second-place optional floor routine. Valhalla finished seventh with 190.475 points.

Lu won the optional all-around and also won the optional beam and bars events, both by 1/10 of a point over Fallbrook junior Janeva Sandoval. Sandoval placed second in both the beam and bars, scoring 9.4 on the optional beam and 9.05 on the optional bars.

The Warriors qualified for the CIF meet as a team for the first time since 1999. While the four league champions automatically advance to the CIF meet as a team, the selection of the four “wild card” teams wasn’t made until May 10.

The Warriors, who finished second to Mount Carmel at the Avocado League meet May 6, found out four days later and six days before the CIF meet that they had been selected. “The girls practiced so hard that last week,” Mericle said. “All week they worked very diligently.

Before the Warriors qualified as a team, Sandoval had qualified for the CIF competition in the optional beam and bars and senior Maggie Sellers qualified for the optional vault. Senior Kayla Alonso, junior Linda Duling, and freshman Bryanna Cusimano qualified for the compulsory all-around, and senior Lindsey Ice qualified in the compulsory vault.

The additional week of practice included two nights when the high school facilities were unavailable and the Warriors practiced at the Fallbrook Gymnastics Club. “We are very thankful to them for letting us do that,” Mericle said.

During much of the season assistant coach Heather Hawthorne’s late-term pregnancy confined Hawthorne to bed rest and forced her to provide coaching tips after watching videotapes of the meets. Hawthorne attended the CIF meet in person and went into labor, although the labor later subsided.

Although Sandoval was the only Warrior gymnast to place at the CIF meet, Mericle was pleased with the team finish. “It was absolutely amazing,” Mericle said. “We achieved higher than any goal that I had set.”

Mericle noted that the higher level of competition didn’t diminish the enjoyment the coaches or gymnasts have had. “We’re looking forward to a great year next year,” she said.

The CIF meet completed Mericle’s third year as the Warriors’ coach. “It’s been an exciting ride,” she said. “I’m still learning and they’re still teaching me.”

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