The Briar Woods Gymnastics team concluded their season on Saturday, Feb. 4 at the final regional meet hosted by Stone Bridge High School. 

In preparation for meets, the team practices three times a week. “We work really hard in practice, and always support and cheer each other on,” said sophomore Gisele Marques. 

At the final meet, it was important for the Falcons to score as many points as possible to qualify for states. Briar started competing on the beam. Senior Jasmine Tikoyan scored a 7.475 out of ten, followed by sophomore Pranati Kudupudi with a 7.375 out of ten. Freshman Maddie Shields made a 7.125 out of ten and sophomore Isabella Caudill scored a 6.325 out of ten. 

Next up for the Falcons was the floor event. Junior Caroline Holt performed first, scoring a 7.8. Next, Tikoyan took the mat and put up a 8.125. Shields was last to take the mat and scored a 7.775. Each of the routines was electric and entertaining to watch. “My favorite event is floor because you can add personality to your routine and I really like tumbling,” said Marques. 

The Falcons then prepared for the vault, earning the highest scores for the Falcons. First, sophomore Avery Condro scored an 8.6. Tikoyan vaulted next, with an 8.85. Shields then made an 8.875. 

Lastly, Briar prepared to take the bars. Up first on the bars was Caudill who scored a 7.025. She was followed by Tikoyan with a 6.35, Kudupudi with a 7.325, sophomore Alyssa Heese with a 7.375, and Marques who made a 7.425.

Although the team experienced some challenges with injuries throughout the season, Head Coach Shannon Walsh said “We’ve come together as a team to support each other and filled in where we needed. We were short on floor and our manager ended up stepping up and competing.” 

Briar has a small team this year, which puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to scores. The team came in sixth place at the meet with a score of 116.5. Since they did not have enough people to compete on floor, they were unable to qualify for states. Stone Bridge placed first for vault, Potomac Falls placed first for bars, Woodgrove placed first for beam, and Riverside placed first for floor. Woodgrove won the meet with high scores from each event.