5A gymnastics: Lakewood’s Isabella Gee claims all-around championship

THORNTON – Isabella Gee set the goal of winning a Class 5A all-around gymnastics title when she was a freshman and on Thursday night at Thornton High School, Gee accomplished that goal.

Throughout the first day of the Colorado gymnastics state championships, Gee was fantastic in every event. The Lakewood junior posted the top all-around score of 38.525 to narrowly beat out a talented field and claim the championship she set her sights on nearly three years ago.

“I’m so happy I made it,” Gee said. “I’ve had this goal since freshman year. I’m also really happy my team came because last year, me and my friend Dakota were the only ones who made it to state and we couldn’t have anyone in the gym. It’s so good to have the whole team and have all the fans back. That helped me so, so much.”

Gee had the top scores of the day in three out of four events.

The Lakewood junior posted top marks of 9.65 on the floor, 9.7 on the beam and 9.775 on the uneven bars. She was eighth in the vault with a score of 9.4.

“I wasn’t really watching scores. I was just trying to do my best routines,” Gee said. “I was just focused on staying on the beam, staying on the bars and hitting my best skills. That’s what we were all focusing on and it worked for us today.”

Gee’s top overall performance also helped the Lakewood team finish second in the team competition behind champion Broomfield.

“We’re all just really, really excited for Izzy,” Lakewood head coach Christine Kamin said. “She’s been our top gymnast since her freshman year and has been close. Last year, she got this. She upgraded her vault this year and has just been working hard with her eye on that goal. We knew she could do it, she just had to hit, and she did it.”

Thornton’s Haley Like was runner-up in the all-around around behind Gee. Heritage gymnast Kate Bryant, who posted the best vault score on Thursday night, was third.