Prep Gymnastics / Spring Review : Cleveland Girls Get Program Off the Mat

Girls gymnastics in the Valley has taken such a tumble over the past five years that it is unusual to see a new high school program vault back into the picture.

In 1980, the City Section had 49 schools competing in girls gymnastics. Six years and numerous budget cuts later, there are 17. Three are Valley schools.

In the Southern Section, no Valley-area high school carries the sport.

Last winter, Ellen Strong decided to meet the challenge of costly equipment, student apathy and expensive insurance rates head on. And now Cleveland High is back on the mat trying to pick up the pieces of a once-strong program that was dropped in 1980.

Pat Harvey, City Section gymnastics director, couldn’t be happier for the fledgling gymnasts.

“You need an eager beaver and someone who’s not afraid of some hard work,” she said. “It was neat for Cleveland to call me and say they wanted to start their program, and I encouraged them.”

Strong, with encouragement from some students in her gymnastics physical education class, began the team with 16 enthusiastic girls and some old equipment but no floor exercise mat.

She had little financial backing, but Strong did have some moral backing.

“I had a lot of support from the teachers here,” she said. “They thought it would be good for the girls.”

Team members bought their own leotards, but with no floor exercise mat, the girls were all dressed up with no place to roll. New mats can cost $6,000, well over Cleveland’s modest budget.

Strong made a few phone calls and discovered that Granada Hills would allow her to borrow its mat for the season. There was still one minor problem, although Strong certainly wasn’t complaining.

“The mat is wonderful, even though it’s green,” she said, laughing. “We wish it was red.”

Green is the school color for Granada Hills, and green is the best way to describe the Cleveland team, which finished the season at 0-5.

The Cavaliers did not qualify for the playoffs as a team, but Strong believes that three of her girls have a chance to advance individually.

Ironically, all three--Wendy Peltzman, Heather Grierson and Leeann Roy--are strongest in the floor exercise, having made good use of the borrowed mat.

Peltzman is a sophomore, and Grierson and Roy are freshman, which might indicate a brighter future for Cleveland girls gymnastics.

“At this point I’m happy with the program,” said Larry Mutz, athletic director at Cleveland. “When we started it, we said we wanted to make a commitment to it. We didn’t want it to be just a one-year thing.”

The quarterfinal team playoffs will be held May 14 at the home site of the higher seeded school. The semifinals are scheduled for May 21 with the finals at a neutral site on May 29.

In individual competition, all gymnasts who qualify will meet at Wilson High on May 17.

GRANT:

The Lancers finished the Northern League with a 4-0-1 record, clinching at least a tie with Eagle Rock for the league team title. Coach Kay McGregor has several strong individual performers on her team as well.

She named Tori Silvera, Lisa Goodman, Stacy Jester and Deanna Gruschka as possible contenders for individual honors in the city playoffs.

Of Gruschka, McGregor said: “She has a good chance of taking No. 1 in the floor exercises.”

MONROE:

Coach John Novak and his Vikings struggled through their Northern League schedule with a record of 1-4 and didn’t make the playoffs.

Junior Wendy Workman was last year’s Class 2 city champion in the all-around competition, and Novak believes she has improved even further.

“She’s strong in everything, the vault especially,” he said. “I expect her to repeat as champion.”

Against a strong team from Grant, Workman placed first in the vault and floor exercises.

The Vikings’ Michelle Wada and Liz Rhodes--both juniors--and sophomore Alma Cubias also may have some success in the individual competition.