Niwot gymnastics takes third at State, Kylee Schlepp wins individual title

Considering her team's youth, Niwot High School head gymnastics coach Marisa Purcell was more than pleased with her Cougars following the final event of the Class 4A team state championships on Nov. 4.

"They've worked so hard in trying to put it all together and it hasn't [come together] kind of all season," Purcell said. "So the fact that this whole meet overall has just come together [was great]."

That hard work culminated in a total score of 176.525 and a third-place team finish at State - Palmer Ridge High School took second and Elizabeth High School won its fourth consecutive title.

But as Elizabeth was competing with only juniors and seniors, the Cougars hung tough with a slew of underclassmen. Sophomore Maeve Flentie led Niwot in the all-around competition with her score of 35.725, which included scores of at least 9.0 on floor, beam and uneven bars. She then returned to Thornton High School on Nov. 5 for the individual championships to take ninth in beam (8.600) and seventh in bars (9.175).

Alongside Maeve, freshman Lilly O'Neill was 10th in the all-around scoring (35.600) and in the finals, she took fifth in beam (9.125), 14th in vault (9.050) and 11th in floor (9.075).

The highlight of the individual finals for Niwot, though, was Kylee Schlepp's first-place score of 9.725 in the vault. Purcell was amazed at how her freshman navigated and ultimately succeeded in her first state meet.

"(Schlepp) just is digging, you know?" Purcell said after the team championships. "(She's) trying to figure out how to do it, figuring out how it works and doing it. It's been kind of that all week long just nerves of what it's going to be like, and so to come here and do it all, I'm so proud of her."

Sophomore Claire Vardas was also competing in her inaugural state meet and was able to qualify for the individual championships in bars, floor and beam - the last of which yielded her best result (10th).

"It's like having a freshman (in Vardas) as far as not knowing how it goes and what to expect," Purcell said. "She's always hard on herself, Claire is. Just the confidence and doing it, going out and performing and executing those skills that she's been working on [is important]."

Niwot's lone competing senior was Nia Terrell, who competed in the floor routine during the team championships. The four-year Cougar gymnast scored an 8.525 in what was her final high school event.

"There are a lot of emotions right now," Terrell said. "It's a lot of joy, it's a lot of sadness. I've been here all four years and we've built such a strong team each year and it's just a strong connection. It's a really good feeling when you land it for the last time and then that's it, it's crazy."