“It gives motivation,” junior Madi Bell said. “Sometimes, when we’re not doing our best, it’s like ‘We’ve done it twice. We want to keep it going.’”
The Bruins, two-time reigning state champions, took a step closer to another state title Monday night, winning the Class 6C Region meet at Robinson.
Lake Braddock’s 150.425 team score outdistanced runner-up Woodson (139.575) and third-place South County (135.050). Robinson and West Springfield rounded out the top five.
Bell took first place in three of four events — including a near-perfect 9.925 on beam — and won the all-around. Sophomore Abby Parrish finished second on vault and bars and third on floor and beam. Maggie Suson, Julia Arnold, Sofia Orphanos and Sophie Bodner also finished top six in at least one event, qualifying them for next week’s state final in Virginia Beach.
Woodson’s Arianna Smith was the only non-Bruin to win an event, edging Parrish on the bars with a 9.675.
“Bars, beam and floor really stepped it up,” Cooper said. “Our team really pulled together tonight. A lot of the girls that are third, fourth and fifth competed and stepped up to be up with Madi and Abby.”
Lake Braddock hasn’t lost a regular season meet in three seasons, shortly after Cooper returned to the program and restored it to the prominence it experienced in the 1990s. Finding motivational fuel for a team that’s a favorite on most meet sheets can be the coach’s toughest task. But his gymnasts hear him.
“It’s a reminder that hard work pays off,” Parrish said. “If we did it once, we can do it again. We just have to focus.”