One of the differences between Battlefield and other schools is none of the team's club gymnasts compete for GMS Gymnastsics in Manassas. Through its own rule, GMS members are barred from participating in the high school post-season.

That directly affected the seasons of Brentsville District's Kelly McKay and Stonewall Jackson's Megan Klein. The two freshmen and long-time friends from Bristow each earned top-five finishes in at least one event. McKay, the lone Tiger gymnast, averaged better than a 9.0 in each event, which placed her third in the maroon-division all around (36.925).

Klein was the only Raider to earn top-five finishes, as she won the vault (9.6), came in second on beam (9.125) and fifth on the floor (8.9).

At the very least, McKay's beam score would have qualified for states in that event, especially given that she would be competing at the Group AA level. Even if Klein competed in the maroon division instead of gold, her 9.6 on vault would have tied earned her a tied-for-second-place finish. She won the gold event by 0.1 points over Dylana Wilhem of Brooke Point and Allie Daczkowski of Potomac Falls.

When asked to explain the difference between competing in high school versus club, she said high school "is a lot more relaxing than club gym. It's not as intense."

Klein came in third place in the gold-level all-around with a score of 35.925, 0.9 points out of first place. That came as a result of a nasty fall she sustained during the bars, when she landed on her upper back, neck and head after projecting herself from the top bar to the lower one.

Collectively, the crowd muttered "Ooo!" and she hit the mat. But Klein didn't let the fall phase her as she stood up, smiled, and jumped back up. Another fall during his dismount cost her again, yet she still managed to score an 8.3, basically implying that the judges scored the rest of her routine at a higher level for difficulty.

"As soon as I got the bar, I was like, 'Oh no, I'm going to screw up,' and it went to my head," said Klein after mentioning that the event is usually "strong" for her.

Stonewall coach Amy Romberger said that Klein's abilities actually helps the rest of the team drive up its own game.

"It's been a great contribution to have her on the team. The girls actually like to see her perform, so it's kind of made them a little more competitive in practice," she said.

Romberger added that Klein and McKay, who trains with Stonewall, both help choreograph routines for some of the up-and-coming SJ gymnasts.

"They're both very artistic," said Romberger. "They have a lot of creative ideas."

Battlefield freshman Kari Willett explained that one of the reasons she enjoys the high school competition is the sense of team unity.

"It's so much fun because and it's team-oriented. It's like, you're competing for the team. You're not competing for yourself," said Willett. "At club, you're competing so that you get the awards. But here, you're doing it for the good of the team."

For McKay, her rookie HS season ended with her own cheering section in the crowd supporting her throughout the night. Eight of her friends from BDHS, including seven other freshmen, dawned black-and-orange garb, some painting her first name across their foreheads. A couple of the boys even shaved their heads, leaving a single stripe in the middle to add that little bit of extra support.

"We're all best friends with Kelly," BD freshman .Virginia Yoder. Classmate Caroline Desmedt added, "We've all know her since kindergarten."

According to McKay, who trains with the Stonewall team, that helped create an atmosphere that's completely different from club gymnastics where each athlete is expected to be absolutely on-point, perfecting their toughest routines each time they hit the mat.

"It's more exciting for me because I have people who are excited for me to do well. Like, Osbourn and Stonewall: they're great, but they're not Brentsville, you know? And now I have people from Brentsville cheering me on; it's a great feeling."