Burke — When Simone Freidman was a freshman at Woodson, she watched Herndon senior Maria Hayden shine at the 2010 Northern Region gymnastics meet, winning the all-around title. Freidman hoped to one day experience similar success.
Three years later, Freidman had her chance to excel on the Northern Region stage. She didn’t compete in high school gymnastics during her sophomore and junior seasons due to club commitments, but Freidman re-joined the Cavaliers as a senior. She had already won the Patriot District all-around title when she competed at regionals on Feb. 6 at Lake Braddock Secondary School.
At the end of the night, Freidman added another championship to her resume.
Freidman captured the Northern Region all-around title, posting a score of 38.350. She placed first on beam (9.85), second on floor (9.55), tied for third on vault (9.6) and finished fifth on bars (9.35).
"It’s unbelievable," Freidman said. "I really wanted this. I really wanted to be able to say I have the district title, I have the regional title … [and] it means a lot as a senior [to be] leaving and making my mark with the title.
"As a freshman, there was one girl named Maria Hayden who won everything. I just remember looking at her and being like, wow, she’s a senior, she made her mark, this is so great. I’m glad to finally be, four years later, [following] in her footsteps."
Woodson finished fourth as a team, posing a score of 141.45. Washington-Lee won its second consecutive region championship, finishing with a score of 147.15. McLean finished runner-up for the second straight year, earning a state berth with a score of 143. Chantilly placed third (142.45).
"It’s unbelievable. I really wanted this. I really wanted to be able to say I have the district title, I have the regional title … [and] it means a lot as a senior [to be] leaving and making my mark with the title."
--- Woodson senior Simone Freidman
The top eight individual finishers in each event, the top four all-around competitors and the top two teams advance to the state meet.
Stone Bridge placed fifth (136.275), Yorktown was sixth (132.175), Oakton finished seventh (131.75) and Lake Braddock was eighth (119).
Centreville’s Ciara Hoernke and Hayfield’s Molly Overstreet tied for second in the all-around at 38.05. Marshall’s Morgan Stahl was fourth (37.575). Stahl won floor (9.725) and vault (9.7) and Hoernke won bars (9.9).
Lake Braddock’s Whitney King finished fifth in the all-around with a score of 37.55. She finished in the top eight on beam (third, 9.7) and vault (tied for third, 9.6).
The VHSL state meet will be held this weekend at Centreville High School. Team competition will begin at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 15, and individual competition will start at 12:20 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 16.