Sophomore Kelly McKay took home second place in the all-around this past weekend in the state gymnastics championship in Glen Allen, winning the balanced beam event outright with a nearly-perfect 9.9 score.

McKay's performance highlighted a weekend full of post-season activity for local athletes that included gymnastics, swimming and wrestling for states. Earlier in the week, Battlefield and Brentsville runners also competed in the Northwest regional and Region II finals, respectively.

Gymnastics

If not for a fall on the uneven bars that cost her half a point, McKay may just have won the all-around competition for Brentsville. Her final score of 38.3 points put her just 0.225 points behind winner Maebelle Pacheco of Salem.

McKay ran up the tally in three events while still pulling out a score of 9.15 out of 10 on the bars. Her 9.7 put her tied with Anika Woodard of North Stafford for second on vault among all-around competitors, behind only Pacheco's impeccable 9.925. McKay also had a solid score of 9.55 on the floor, good enough for third place among the same group.

Her fellow Tiger Rachel Sable also qualified for states as she participated on the bars (7.45) and beam (8.1).

Meanwhile, Battlefield competed as a full team for the third consecutive year at states and came in third place overall, tallying 142.775 points. Great Bridge won the weekend competition with 149.1 points while Kellam finished in second, registering 146.225 points. Chantilly (141.125), Atlee (140.75), Stafford (140.750), Stone Bridge (139) and Deep Run (138.525) rounded out the top eight.

Brianna Artz led the way for the Bobcats by eclipsing the 9.0 mark in three events. Her score of 9.675 on the beam put her second only to all-around champion Courtney Adams of Great Bridge among Group AAA gymnasts. Artz also tallied scores of 9.3 on vault, 9.125 on the floor and 8.55 on the uneven bars.

Alexis Williamson's one performance turned out to be a big one for Battlefield as she registered a 9.325 on the beam. Rylie McKee (8.975) finished third on the team in that event while also posing a 9.2 on the floor and 8.2 on bars. Alex Fairbanks tallied the Bobcats other score above a 9.0 on her signature floor event, where she matched Artz's 9.125.

Jena Schroeder's 8.925 on beam helped the team earn 36.9 points in the event, Battlefield's best showing of the weekend. The Bobcats earned 36.025 on floor, 35.65 on vault and 34.2 on bars.

Swimming

Battlefield had a little bit of a rougher outing at the Group AAA state swimming championship at Princess Anne Poll in Virginia Beach. The girls' 62 points put the Bobcats in 14th place, 125 points behind winner Langley. Westfield's 238 points in the boys' competition gave the Bulldogs the edge while Battlefield's nine points put the team in 39th.

Individually, both teams had their moments. For the girls, Natalie Martin had the biggest day by being the only Bobcat to swim in three events. Her time of 1:12.48 put her in third place in the 100 yard breaststroke and her 200 yard medley time of 2:22.73 placed her in eighth for that event. Swimming second in a team that included Nina Tremols, Holly Criscuolo and Stephanie Bolton, Martin helped the girls finish in seventh place with a time of 2:03.54.

Criscuolo also had an individual outing of her own: she registered an eighth-place finish in the 100 yard butterfly, finishing in 1:06.28.

On the boys' side Jacob Croasdell competed twice for Battlefield, once as an individual and once as part of a relay team. By himself, he placed in 14th during the 400 yard freestyle with a time of 4:13.67 He also teamed up with Ford Whitticar, Bill Pogue and Nick Mathis in the 400 freestyle relay, where the boys checked in 13th, clocking in at 3:42.18.

Indoor Track

Like in the state swimming meet, the Bobcat girls bested the boys in the final standings during the Northwest Region indoor track championship, checking in third place with 66 points and three event wins. The boys team registered nine points to check in 18th. Mountain View won for the girls (88 points) while Colonial Forge (82) took home top honors for the boys.

Ellison Grove beat her own seed time of 1:20.07 by over two seconds, checking in at 1:17.77 to win the 500 meter dash over second-place finisher Brianna Krumholz of Forest Park, the No. 1 seed for the event. Battlefield received a major bonus in that even as freshman Jasmine Hill (1:19.07) and junior Virginia Hill (1:20.51) crossed the finish line in third and fourth place respective, helping Battlefield bring in 21 points from that event alone.

In the high jump, senior Johnna Dominick's leap of 5-feet, 4-inches put her in the top spot by two inches over Miaisha McFadgen of Hylton, granting Battlefield 10 points for that event. Battlefield's 4x800 meter relay team also brought home the gold by clocking in at 9:30.71, almost 12 seconds ahead of second-place Colonial Forge.

Nicole Carter's time of 11:26.10 added in six points for the Bobcats and a third-place showing for herself in the 3,200 meter run. Her senior teammate Marina Capalbo earned another bronze and six points in the 1,000 meter run by clocking in at 3:03.78 Virginia Hill's 42.55 time in the 300 meter dash placed her in fifth, which was worth four points.

In the 1,600 meter run, Hannah Schwennesen chipped in an extra point for Battlefield with an eight-place finish at 5:41.39.

Three of the boys' relay teams registered top-10 finishes. The 4x800 squad came in third place (8:16.45) by shaving 13 seconds off of their seed time while the 4x200 (1:39.05) and 4x400 (3:36.29) both checked in eighth place overall.

Haben Zemichael, in his inaugural regional run as a freshman, checked in eighth place in the 3,200 meter run with a time of 9:58.62, 20.61 seconds out of first place.

Meanwhile, Brentsville's girls team came in sixth place in the Region II final at Fork Union Military Academy while the boys ended up seven with 30 points. Though none of the Tigers brought home the gold in any event, Brentsville did collect five silvers.

Two of those belonged to senior Morgan Price, who earned the No. 2 spot in both the 1,600 (5:18.27) and 3,200 (11:27.49) meter runs. Her teamamte Kenzie Fennell came in sixth place (12:31.89) in the latter.

Aaron Keller's 500 meter run time of 1:10.56 placed in second, as did Crystal Hunt's 43.95 in the 300 meter dash. The boys 4x800 meter relay team also earned second place for a time of 8:35.87 while the girls 4x200 (1:55.33) and boys 4x200 (1:39.64) registered third and fourth place showings, respectively.

Amber Cowthran and Rachel Reynolds finished fourth and fifth respectively in the high jump with leaps of 4-feet, 10-inches. Tom Blair checked in fifth place with a time of 1:12.34 in the 500 meter run. Hampton Irvin edged teammate Alex Orellana by just 0.07 seconds for sixth place in the 300 meter dash. Back on the field, Khaleel Momen's throw of 41-feet, 9-inches gave him eighth place and Brentsville one point in the shot put.