Before her team began its balance beam routines at yesterday's Aloha Classic gymnastics invitational, Stonewall Jackson Coach Karen Lutman taped up a shirtless picture of actor Josh Hartnett on the wall facing the landing area at one end of the beam. Practically, the picture served as something for the gymnasts to focus on as they dismounted, a reminder to keep their heads up.
Less practically, the picture was, in the words of junior Kelsey Deitz, "hot."
Stonewall Jackson's Erin Stack performs on the balance beam at the Aloha Classic gymnastics invitational.
(Joel Richardson - The Washington Post)
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With this focused but relaxed approach, Deitz and junior Erin Stack led the host Raiders to the team title in the upper division of the invitational, with a total of 147.2 points. Stack took first place in the all-around with a 37.2, and Deitz, who debuted both a new vault and tumbling pass in her floor exercise, finished third.
The win, which came over rivals Stafford and Colonial Forge, did much to establish the deep Raiders as the favorite in the Virginia AAA Northwestern Region meet, scheduled for Feb. 12.
"The girls were really looking forward to this meet," Lutman said. "They can see what they can do here and it just motivates them to want to do more."
Stack's strongest performance of the day was on the beam, an apparatus that had vexed her recently. In her first beam routine without a fall in more than two weeks, Stack scored a second-place 9.5, highlighted by a difficult aerial.
"Doing well on the beam today was really important to me," Stack said. "The aerial has been bothering me for a while."
Despite a fall on the beam, Deitz earned a 37.025, taking first in floor and tying for first in bars.
Stafford sophomore Catie Frakes just missed her third all-around invitational title of the season, finishing 0.075 of a point behind Stack. Colonial Forge's four all-around performers -- sophomore Sam Brooks, juniors Angie Clements and Rachel Gentry and senior Chalisha Yates -- all scored more than 36 points, leading the Eagles to a second-place team finish at 146.25.
Brooks paced Colonial Forge with a 36.925 all-around.
Still, the story of the meet was the Raiders' calm confidence, the picture of Hartnett and the meet's laid-back, "Aloha" atmosphere, replete with leis, blow-up palm trees and Beach Boys musical interludes. Lutman said that the Raiders hope to build on their success by completing a meet with no falls, which would lead to the team's goal of a 150.
"This meet was important to show everybody where we are," Stack said. "But no one has seen the best of us yet."
In the lower division, Gar-Field took first place with a 128.825. Battlefield junior Isabelle Schumaker was the area's top finisher, placing second in the all-around at 34.7. She won the floor with a 9.0.
