Columbia River gymnasts update (3:05 p.m.)

The Columbia River Chieftains raced out with a 46.7 total on the floor exercise, their first event in the team competition at the Class 3A state gymnastics championships in the Tacoma Dome’s Exhibition Hall.

Nikki Dyer led the way with a 9.675. Jennifer DeBellis, a two-time state champion in this event, scored a 9.525. Both of those marks should advance them to the individual event finals on Saturday.

On Friday, though, the Chieftains are looking for a quality team finish.

“Great start,” Columbia River coach Alicia Green said. “They always do well on floor. This is going to set up the rest of the meet.”

She said that after the floor. However, the momentum did not continue for the second event.

River struggled on the vault. Dyer scored a solid 9.350 but none of the other Chieftains cracked the 9s.

“Unfortunately, I think they were a little tentative,” Green said. “The girls are putting a lot of pressure on themselves instead of having fun. We’re going to have a talk with them.”

Still, through two full rounds, the Chieftains were in first place in the team race. Of course, the floor exercise usually brings out higher scores than the other events.

I will update with another blog entry shortly.