Versatile Davis leads Cougar girls to title | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

Shelby Davis walked into the gym this spring as a freshman brimming with confidence, and she left as a county champion.

"I'm always confident when I go in or I'll not believe in myself," Davis said. "And I don't want to be like that."

Davis took first place in three of the four competitions to earn the all-around championship and propel Chesapeake to its first county title since 2001 and denied Broadneck its sixth consecutive crown.

Chesapeake edged Broadneck, 125.4-122.025, on its home court.

"It's been like seven years building a team, gaining people and losing people," Cougars coach Amy Harsanyi said. "Definitely, beating Broadneck was a big deal."

Chesapeake and Broadneck earned spots in next week's regional competition, along with the top three all-around finishers not on those two teams. Severna Park's Sarah Dyckman (second) and Sarah Orlich (sixth) and Annapolis' Phoebe DeForfeld (third) all secured spots.

The top three competitors not already qualified for the regions advanced through the specialist division: Old Mill's Kyri Hinkleman (vault, bars, floor), Melissa Shelley (vault, bars, beam, floor), Maria Mule (bars, beam), Charae Reagin (beam) and Shalia Seibles (floor), and Annapolis' Kira Shaffir (vault).

Davis swept her way through the uneven parallel bars, the balance beam and the vaults before finishing second in the floor exercise to end her shot at a perfect day.

Broadneck's Heather Walsh scored a 9.25 on the floor to finish ahead of Davis' 9.15. Walsh earned a second-place 9.1 in the beam after not placing in the vault and the bars to finish fourth in the all-round competition with 32.7 points.

Holli Dow, Broadneck's other all-around gymnast, finished behind Walsh with a 32.125.

Broadneck, which won its first four meets of the season before losing to Chesapeake last week, finished right behind the Cougars in each of the first three events. The Bruins' 34.55-32.4 advantage in the floor exercise wasn't enough for a sixth straight title.

"We had our highest score of any meet this season, so I'm pleased with that," Broadneck coach Suzy McGarity said. "Unfortunately, we had some falls on beam and the bars weren't our best. Chesapeake did a great job today. Congratulations to them. It was well-deserved."

Old Mill finished third in the team competition with 120.65 points. Severna Park, led by all-around gymnasts Sarah Dyckman and Sarah Orlich, finished fourth with 111.5 points, and Annapolis (96.6) and Arundel (74.15) rounded up the team competition, placing fifth and sixth, respectively.

Dyckman picked up 35 points and didn't score less than an 8.6 in her four events to finish second in the all-around. She scored nine points on the floor, 8.7 in the balance beam and uneven bars and received an 8.6 on the vault.

Dyckman, who's been involved in gymnastics since she was 2, figured she was fighting for second place before she began, thanks to Davis.

"It wasn't really any competition," Dyckman said. "I knew she was going to win."

Orlich finished with 31.55 points, highlighted by an 8.4 on the vault to grab a sixth-place medal. Her 8.2 on the beam resulted in her only medal - a sixth-place finish.

Chesapeake's Kerri Robinson only cracked the top six once with a 7.55 in the bars to finish sixth in the all-around, and Lindsay Roberts, who scored second in the vault (8.675) and fifth in the beam (8.3), placed ninth.

The Cougars - who, with Annapolis, used a meet-high three girls in the all-round - got everything else they needed from Davis, whose lowest score less than 9.1 was a first-place 8.75 in the vault.

"You can't ask for anything more than that," Harsanyi said. "If someone had her for a day, they'd say, 'I want 50 of her.' And not just because of her being a gymnast. Just because she's well-rounded."

TEAM SCORES

Chesapeake 125.4; Broadneck 122.025; Old Mill 120.65; Severna Park 111.5; Annapolis 96.6; Arundel 74.15.

INDIVIDUAL SCORES (All-Around)

Totals: 1, Davis, CH, 36.225; 2, Dyckman, SP, 35; 3, DeKorfeld, AN, 34.2; 4, Walsh, BR, 32.7; 5, Dow, BR, 32.125; 6, Orlich, SP, 31.55; 7, Robinson, CH, 31.5; 8, Hinkleman, OM, 31.4; 9, Roberts, CH, 30.775; 10, Shelley, OM, 29.95; 11, Shaffir, AN, 28.45; 12, Piatt, OM, 19.45; 13, Sites, AN, 17.9.

Vault: 1, Davis, CH, 8.75; 2, Roberts, CH, 8.675; 3, Hinkleman, OM, 8.65; 4, Dyckman, SP, 8.6; 5, DeKorfeld, AN, 8.55; 6, Shelley, OM, 8.45.

Bars: 1, Davis, CH, 9.1; 2, Dyckman, SP, 8.7; 3, DeKorfeld, AN, 8.55; 4, Hinkleman, OM, 7.8; 5, Dow, BR, 7.65; 6, Robinson, CH, 7.55.

Beam: 1, Davis, CH, 9.225; 2, Walsh, BR, 9.1; 3, DeKorfeld, 8.85; 4, Dyckman, SP, 8.7; Roberts, BR, 8.3; Orlich, SP, 8.2.

Floor: 1, Walsh, BN, 9.25; 2, Davis, CH, 9.15; 3, Dyckman, SP, 9; 3, Dow, BN, 9; 4, DeKorfeld, AN, 8.75; 5, Hinkleman, OM, 8.3; 6, Shelley, OM, 8.1.