Forsyth Central takes gymnastics competition

It was a quiet week in Georgia high school gymnastics last week as many of the top teams rested after competing in Lassiter’s House of Troy Invitational. Forsyth Central pulled out a victory last Tuesday in a meet that saw the Bulldogs post 88.60 points to beat out Lovett. The Lions finished ahead of Walton and Cambridge. Lovett was back in action at home against Jefferson, Carrollton and Pope. Lovett finished ahead of Jefferson but Carrollton took home the win, beating out Pope 101.1-94.85. Lovett finished with a team score of 58.60. Westminster took first at a meet against Alpharetta, Northview and South Forsyth. The Wildcats will next be in action Wednesday when they travel to Lovett while Tift County is next in action Wednesday against Colquitt County. Lassiter travels to Lovett next week for competition that will also feature Oconee County and Wheeler. … Looking back at the House of Troy Invitational, several gymnasts that performed well at the event could make some serious noise later this year at the state championships. Tift County’s Beth Roberts was one of the top performers last year, capturing the all-around crown as well as the uneven bars, beam and floor titles. At the House of Troy Invitational, Roberts finished second in the all-around thanks to victories in the floor and vault and a second on the uneven bars. She was forced to count a fall on the beam and dropped out of the top 10. Lambert’s Katie Stuart won the all-around at the House of Troy and will look to improve upon her sixth-place finish in the all-around last year. Stuart won the uneven bars event two weeks ago after finishing fourth at the state finals last year. She also took home honors on the beam. Tift County will also have Libby Barbour posing a serious threat in the all-around after finishing fifth last year. She was third at the House of Troy event after finishing second on floor, an event she also finished second in at last year’s championships. Barbour is a contender for beam as well. Perhaps the one name that could surprise is Lassiter’s Katie Steele. Steele finished fourth in the all-around at the House of Troy with a third-place finish on the beam the highlight of her day. She finished seventh last year and could be a threat at the April 26 championships at the Westminster School. Steele has stepped her game up since last year when her finishes ranged from 17-23.