Middle schools to replace gymnastics with soccer programs
February 16, 2009
Beginning in September, girls soccer will replace gymnastics at all Issaquah School District middle schools. Operational, financial and participation considerations led the district to switch to soccer, said Ron Thiele, district associate superintendent.
Eagle tumblers take third at KingCo
February 9, 2009
Olivia Goree performs her floor routine during the 4A KingCo Championships, tying for first in the event with 9.45 points. By Ryan Piersol
A pair of top-10 all-around performances weren’t enough to keep the Issaquah High School gymnastics team from stopping a Woodinville squad intent on dominating the newly revamped KingCo 4A championships.
Issaquah, which competed in 3A last season, picked up top-10 all-around finishes from both Olivia Goree and Risa Fukuda on Feb. 7 at Ballard High School. That push helped the Eagles finish with 172.7 points, good enough for third place. Woodinville was first with 181.6, while Bothell was runner-up with 177.
It was the first time this season for Issaquah to face Woodinville and Bothell in a 4A league that has four new teams.
The top three teams qualified for this weekend’s district meet.
“We went in knowing there would be six teams vying for three spots. And we knew that Woodinville would be the given and Bothell would be right behind them, so there were going to be a lot of teams going after that third spot,” Eagles coach Ryan Fleisher said. “We’re happy. It was a pretty good weekend.”
Eagle Olivia Goree leads Issaquah to win at gymnastics tri-meet
January 19, 2009
Olivia Goree, of Issaquah, works on her uneven bar routine for a 8.8 score and a win on the apparatus Jan. 15. By Greg Farrar
Thanks to a jumbled season, gymnastics coaches in the KingCo Crest League may have still been wondering exactly what to expect of Issaquah High School.
On Jan. 15, they received their answer.
Led by a phenomenal night from Olivia Goree, the Eagles toppled league foes Newport and Mount Si at a meet in Newport.
Issaquah won with 171.75 points, followed by Newport’s 167.5 and Mount Si’s 159.5.
The win was proof that the Eagles, who missed three weeks of competition due to weather complications at one point this season, may have a stranglehold on their division.
“Newport is our biggest rivalry, so it’s good to see us go out and perform well,” Issaquah head coach Ryan Fleisher said. “We’ve had a strange season, but the girls are doing great.”
Issaquah, Skyline renew gymnastics rivalry in 4A
December 15, 2008
Eagles field seven of the top 10 gymnasts
Dani Cogswell, of Skyline, dismounts with a twist from the balance beam, winning the event with a score of 9.45. Photo by Greg Farrar.
The Skyline Spartans and Issaquah High School Eagles gymnastics teams met Dec. 11 at Skyline High School as new KingCo 4A opponents. The Eagles beat the Spartans 167.05-151.9.
The meet was Issaquah’s first of the season, and served as a reasonable gauge of how tough KingCo competition will be this winter, said Issaquah head coach Ryan Fleisher.
Despite the loss, Skyline head coach Debbie Gliner was happy with the results.“We had our best meet in two years. We made some really great strides,” she said. “It would have been nice to win, but we had a really nice meet for us.”
Gliner had good reason to be happy about Skyline’s performance.
Dani Cogswell took first place in the vault, bars and beam and was the meet’s all-around top finisher. But it wasn’t enough to come out on top.
The Lady Eagles had more gymnasts score higher in each event. And seven of the top 10 gymnasts at the meet were from Issaquah, which is to equal or best last year’s third-place finish at the state Class 3A championship meet.
