Gymnasts, from left, Drue Davis, Mallory West, Kelcy Bowers and LeighAnn Krische have practiced together, competed in the same meets and shared their coach all season. West and Krische compete for Lawrence High, while Davis and Bowers are Free State Firebirds.
Kathy Johnson faces a difficult, albeit enviable dilemma this weekend: which school to root for at the state gymnastics meet Saturday in Hutchinson? Lawrence High or Free State High?
As head coach of both schools since Free State's inception 11 years ago, it's a situation Johnson is used to.
"I don't pay attention to scores during the meet, so I wouldn't know who to root for anyway," Johnson said. "I root for all of them as individuals. I don't select one school or the other because I coach both."
What makes this weekend different from others is the stage on which both will do battle.
While the teams practice together and compete at the same meets throughout the season, the state championship usually is reserved for LHS. The Lions have qualified for state in 10 of the past 11 seasons. This year, the Firebirds joined the fun for only the second time ever with a fourth-place finish at regionals last weekend.
"It's been awhile since the Free State team (qualified)," Free State sophomore Drue Davis said. "Originally, we didn't think our whole team was going to be able to qualify because one of our girls had been injured. So it was a shock when they announced us as fourth place. We were really excited."
The success at the regional meet means Lawrence's high schools will fill two of the eight slots at state - a testament to the hard work each gymnast began putting in well before her high school career began.
Like many on the two teams, Free State freshman Kelcy Bowers began honing her skills in elementary school on a club team at the Lawrence Gymnastics Academy.
"We've all just grown up with gymnastics," Bowers said. "A lot of people on the team have been doing it pretty much their whole lives. I started when I was in third grade."
It was then that Bowers became friends with Mallory West, now a senior and two-time individual state champion on the Lawrence High gymnastics team. Similar bonds formed between others during club gymnastics. That made the transition to participating on different high school teams much easier, according to Johnson.
"It's not like they've grown up on separate sides of the track and never seen each other until they got to high school," Johnson said. "They competed and practiced together as kids growing up. So they come in here and they all know each other. It's not like, 'Who are you?' In that regard, it's unique compared to a lot of other sports."
The camaraderie was evident near the end of practice Monday afternoon at Free State High (the teams rotate practice locations between the two high schools each day). As the gymnasts gathered for stretching exercises, the mood was light, and laughter filled the upstairs practice room. Lawrence and Free State gymnasts sat side-by-side, each genuinely enjoying the other's company.
"We're just all really close," West said. "We practice together, and we cheer each other on and try to help each other out. The only thing is when we get to meets, we're wearing different leotards and are on separate events. But even if we're on a different event, we're always screaming across the gym."
That type of support likely will be on display again this weekend, this time as both teams share the grandest stage of all and do it together.
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