Dunwoody High Gymnasts Riding Momentum

Beset by injuries, gymnasts hope emotion propels them in tonight's first of two state qualifying meets at Lovett.

It's amazing how coming off a third consecutive DeKalb County championship can make you forget a bum toe, foot, or even a whole leg.

"We've never had as many injuries as we've had this year," 19th-year coach Cassandra Watkins said. "It's been really hard staying healthy."

Watkins said the challenge has been this season's condensed schedule of seven meets in barely more than two weeks, including competitions twice on consecutive nights. Still, Watkins' Wildcats defied gravity by winning their third consecutive county title their last time out, on March 31.

"We've had meets on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, then the next Thursday," Watkins said of the most recent stretch. "It makes it very difficult for the gymnasts in terms of wear and tear on their bodies, having so little turn-around time to practice things you're not doing well before the next competition."

Dunwoody's top gymnast, Oksana Casey, last season's county all-around winner, is among those injured. Her troublesome ankle sidelined her much of the season and allowed her just two bars performances before competing there and on beam at county.

"I tried a brand new mount on the beam and didn't fall off," Casey said of winning both events at county. "My bars were pretty good there, too."

Caroline Luehring still is nursing an injured ankle and Julie Dragstedt a bum toe. Meanwhile, Shye Davis' leg is still in a cast. It remains uncertain if any of them will compete tonight or in the all-classification state meet at Westminster on April 29.

Much of the load at county fell on freshman Lizzie Marra, sophomore Allie Benston and junior Megan Emery. By finishing third on bars, fourth on vault, and fifth on beam and floor, Marra captured second in the county all-around, behind Arabia Mountain's Camille Cassar.

Marra said that, despite the injuries, the Wildcats had an uncanny sense they could win a seventh DeKalb championship and tie Tucker and Redan for the second-most county titles behind Lakeside's 16.

"We were following scores throughout the meet, and thought we had a pretty good shot," Marra said. "We were all kind of nervous, especially at the end, but we all had confidence we could win because we'd been training hard."

Remarkably, all seven of Dunwoody's county titles have come since 1996, DeKalb's most in that span. This year's boosted Watkins into a tie for second with former Lakeside coach Shirley McDaniel, just one shy of former coach Lucia Norwood's three at Briarcliff and five at Lakeside.

Watkins considered this year's county win special, but not quite like her first, when her daughter Courtney competed for her, and Dunwoody's Joci Newman won the all-around.

"(Winning county) is never old news because you always know other schools are trying to beat you," the coach said.

Now the focus is reaching state and topping Dunwoody's best-ever fifth-place finish there in the early 2000s.

What: Gymnastics state qualifying meets

Where: Lovett School

When: Today, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.

What's at stake: Top twelve finishers in each exercise and the all-around, as well as the top six teams, advance to the state meet at Westminster on April 29.