Photo by Rebecca Holt

The lady Spartans traveled down to South High School to take on the Rebels, and were unable to come away with the victory, losing 107-138. The Spartans were lead by Sophomore Heather Zink and Seniors Alex Palmer and Jenelle Archuleta. Palmer, who finished with an all-around score of 24.5 with a balance beam score of 6.1 could not be happier with the direction of the team. “We played well, we just need to work on some minor things. I like the direction that we are going and I enjoy the senior leaders we have on this squad,” said Palmer.

The ladies next match will be on October 20 when they travel to take on league rival Kennedy. The Commnders, who have had a fair year so far will be looking to get revenge on the Spartans who were able to defeat them last year. The match will be held at Kennedy and will  begin at 7:00.

photo by Rebecca Holt

The TJ girls’ gymnastics team came out firing Thursday night. Junior Heather Zink lead both teams, compiling an all-around score of 24.25. Not far behind her was Senior Alex Palmer, who finished with an all-around score of 22.25.

The girls also fared well in the vault. Zink finished with a score of 7.7, and she also placed first in the uneven bars finishing with a score of 5. Palmer finished with a 4.25. “ We really played well against East. I think our team really came together and grew. I like where we are heading and I think that we have a good chance to do something in Regionals. I am ready to take on Kennedy,” said Palmer.

Freshman Ashley Nordloh won in the balance beam category with a score of 6.45. Palmer finished with a score of 6.15. Zink additionally took the floor exercise with ease finishing with a 6.25. Senior Jenelle Archuleta finished in third place on the floor overall, finishing with a 5.4.

The girls will next be in action on Thursday, October 1, when they take on the Kennedy Commnders. The meet will begin at 6:00 pm and will be held at Kennedy.

Gymnastics squad prepares for their first meet. photo by Rebecca Holt

On Thursday, September 10, the girls’ gymnastic squad traveled down to Ponderosa to square off against the bruins. Although the Spartan ladies put up a valiant effort, they just were not able to pick up the win, falling by a final score of 108.8 to 117.8.  The Spartans were lead by the triple threat Senior crew that is Jenelle Archuleta, Katie Dehmlow, and Alex Palmer. “The girls did awesome in their first match,” exclaimed Head Coach Tim Hardy. “We scored 35 points better this year than we did last year in our first match,” said Hardy.

The girls excelled most on the vault. “We did well, and we are all really satisfied with our scores,” said Senior Tyler Cobb. “We are definitely headed in the right direction,” she added.

The girls will look to build off of a positive first match, as the ladies will be traveling down to Northglenn for the annual Northglenn Invite. The meet will be on Saturday September 12, and will start promptly at 8:00 in the morning, so be sure to support your Spartans.
Thu     9/24/09    Denver East High School     Thomas Jefferson High School     6:00PM
Thu     10/1/09    @  John F. Kennedy     John F. Kennedy High School     6:00PM
Sat     10/3/09    @  Sterling Invite     Sterling High School     8:00AM
Thu     10/8/09    Denver South High School     Thomas Jefferson High School     6:00PM
Tue     10/27/09    @  Tiger Tumbler     Summit High School     6:00PM
Sat     11/7/09    @  State Gymnastics Meet     Thornton High School     9:00AM

The Lady Spartans look good through their first few meets.
by Matt Kleberger
photo by Kevin Fleming     
    The Lady Spartans gymnastics team started the season off  with a loss to Ponderosa, with the score being 135-Ponderosa, to 66- TJ.

    However, on Thursday September 11, the squad had their first home meet of the season against the Littleton Lions. Junior Katie Dehmlow placed in every event in which she competed, placing 6^th on the balance beam, 6^th on the uneven bars, and 5^th on vault. Alex Palmer, also a Spartan junior said, “We’re getting better all the time, we just need to keep improving like we have been.”

    Thursday night at TJ, the Spartans lost but by only a small margin of 19 points, but the Spartans’ 97 came up shore against the Lions’ 126. Sophomore Heather Zinc, also placed in all events in which she competed, scoring 5.55 on her floor exercise and 4.0 on the uneven bars.

    Saturday was another Spartan day for gymnastics, as the girls went to the Northglenn Norse Invitational. The ladies did fantastic scoring 70 point behind the efforts of gymnasts Jenelle Archuleta, Jesse Shuler, Sunny Vela, and Kendall Kippley. They finished the day in 7^thplace.

    Head Coach Tim Hardy said, “Improvements are being made on the difficulty of the routines. More superior skill levels are also being made in the routine choreography."  Hardy went on to say, “We need to fill the roster on all events. Sickness and eligibility have slowed the amount of girls competing down, and next week will hopefully be a full roster.”

    On Thursday October 2nd the ladies will have their second and last home meet at TJ against the Commanders of John F. Kennedy High School. So come out and support the team at 6 pm in the gymnasium.

By Marc Houghton

    The TJ girls’ gymnastics team traveled to Ponderosa Thursday night to take on the second ranked Mustangs in their first meet of the season.  Ponderosa took the win, but the Spartans exceeded all of newly named head coach Timothy Hardy’s expectations for their first meet.  Hardy set a goal for the team to score 60 points, and they ended up with over 73.  The girls faced a big challenge, going against a talented Ponderosa team without any meet experience under their belt, but they stepped up to the challenge and did better than they could have hoped.
    Good performances from the TJ gymnasts included first year team member, sophomore Alex Palmer doing a great floor routine and fellow sophomore Jenelle Archuleta finishing the meet with a solid set on the uneven bars.  With a new coach, the team didn’t know how they would fare with their first taste of competition, but this opening meet was a good sign of things to come for the rest of the season and the Spartan gymnastics girls hope to keep the good performances going. 

Coaches

Head Coach: Tim Hardy

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