Much like the flu bug that has hit schools and offices with a vengeance in the winter season, the injury bug has already bitten the Redmond High gymnastics team.

The one positive is that it’s early in the season, and the upcoming winter break will allow the ailing top Mustang gymnasts a chance to rest, recuperate, and make a push towards making the state meet in late February.

Three of the team’s 12 gymnasts are currently hurt, including two of the team’s top scorers, Chelsea Polk and fourth-year varsity returner Ally Garcia, who both suffered ankle injuries.

“Ally did a simple (move) yesterday on floor and rolled her ankle,” said head coach Jason Farr, pointing to Garcia stretching in a boot cast. “Hopefully they’ll be better. We’ve got a couple weeks over Christmas to work it out, there’s no meets.”

While injuries are an unfortunate part of the sport of gymnastics, this year’s Mustangs, despite their small turnout of 12 athletes, hold some promise.

Garcia, who fell just short of a berth to the 4A state meet last year, worked extremely hard over the summer and looks to be the team’s favorite to get to the Tacoma Dome Exhibition Center. The team also has a couple more returners with a good shot if they can stay healthy and refine their form over the course of the season.

“I think last year at districts (Ally) got kinda robbed on scores, but that’s how it goes,” Farr said. “I think Chelsea can (make state), and I’d like to get Kaylee (Borms) there too, and she’s got one more year with us.”

Polk is a solid all-around competitor as are her team co-captains, Borms and Garcia.

Borms, who is a club gymnast with Kirkland-based Northwest Aerials, is particularly strong on the beam, having placed fourth in the event at the Level 8 State Championships last March.

Farr held summer training camps at Eastside Gymnastics Club to prepare for this season, and noted that the turnout was very solid, though some girls did not try out for the high school team. But the ones that did stay with the program improved by leaps and bounds.

“These guys really cleaned up a lot,” noted Farr, adding that his athletes will be attempting flipping vaults in the new year. “That’s most of what we did this summer, fix their form. Ally’s form is great, both her and Kaylee are improving on bars a lot.”

In their first league meet of the season, the girls were defeated by Kingco gymnastics power Bothell and a solid Ballard team, but the Mustangs did have three podium finishes including Garcia’s winning floor routine that scored 9.375.

The team’s next meet will be on Thursday, Jan. 5, against Issaquah, Roosevelt and Newport at Issaquah High School.

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Quote of Note: Head Coach Jason Farr on high school vs. club gymnastics

“It’s a double-edged sword. The clubs, including ours (Eastside Gymnastics) do not want any girls doing high school. There’s this stigma that high school gymnasts are bad gymnasts, they don’t know what they’re doing… and they can’t handle it at the club (level). Which is wrong, because if you’ve ever been to the state meet, they’re good. You don’t learn that stuff accidentally, they’ve been trained. A lot of them are in clubs, and they do high school for the same reasons, but I’m sure to them high school is a lot easier. The way the scoring system is laid out, if you’re a club gymnast, and especially an optional-level gymnast, you’re going to walk right through it and destroy everybody. When I was younger it was separated a little more, but there were bigger teams too – I know some of the teams around here are huge, like Mercer Island had 80 girls try out this year. They had exhibition (division), which is the girls who had never done gymnastics, and they’d compete against other exhibition kids. Their scores wouldn’t really count, but at least you’re competing against your level. JV had done a little bit of gymnastics, a little bit of club but maybe not at a high level, and the varsity kids were those high-end club kids. It was a little more evenly matched. There’s a couple new people getting involved with some of the rules and regulations this year, so I’m hoping maybe it’ll change or get better. Other schools have the same issue, with some club kids and others not, and the clubs don’t want kids to do high school, roll and ankle and get injured. Which they would do at club too, and then it becomes more of a ‘don’t touch my kids’ kind of thing.” – Jason Farr, Mustang head coach