Aerin Bernstein

Sophomore Aerin Bernstein completes her beam routine at the meet. “[This was] a routine I’ve done since last year, but I changed to make it better this year,” Bernstein said. “I ended up scoring a 6.75, which was my new high score.”

Jefferson’s gymnastics team won second overall at a meet at Edison High School against Edison High School, Falls Church High School, Hayfield Secondary School, and Lewis High School on Monday, Dec. 16.

Several competitors also placed individually, both in specific events and in the overall ranking. Junior Molly Chen placed first on bars and third on beam. Junior Naomi Krischner placed first on floor, third on vault, fourth on bars, and second in the all-around.

“It was our first meet against Edison [this season], and they’re kind of our rivals,” Krischer said.

The Jefferson and Edison teams share a coach and often practice together, which is common throughout high school gymnastics teams.

“Last Districts, we beat [Edison] by half a point, so we were really close,” Krischer said.

The Edison team has consistently placed near Jefferson’s team in local meets and larger competitions.

“I think [this year] is going better than last year because last year we didn’t win a single meet until we won Districts,” Krischer said. “This year, we’re doing better individually, and we’re placing higher as a team.”

Although the team has been placing higher this year, there are still improvements they aim to make, such as encouraging members to attend meets more consistently.

“The meet before this one, only four people showed up,” Chen said. “I think it was good for morale that more people showed up and that we were able to place. I got injured recently, so I was just trying to do the best I could by being here.”

To prepare for meets, members practice multiple times each week. They also use byes, which are free periods during some meets, to get ready.

“During [byes], we would run out to the hallway, and we would walk on the line and pretend we were on the beam,” sophomore Aerin Bernstein said. “By the time we got in, we only had a ten-minute warmup, but we were already warmed up.”

The team members are close and supportive of one another in order to increase competitive success.

“I probably wouldn’t be friends with a freshman, but now I’m good friends with a freshman because of gymnastics,” Krischer said.

Gymnastics also allows team members to destress and take focus away from schoolwork.

“When I do gymnastics outside of [Jefferson], it’s a bit more stressful for me,” Chen said. “When I do gymnastics for [Jefferson], I’m a little more relaxed, and I have fun with it.”

The team won District Champions last year, and members want to improve performance in local meets in preparation for the next Districts.

“[We want to] repeat District Champions and try to place higher at Regionals this year,” Chen said.