O'Donnell, Carr share state title

BEVERLY -- Vying for the Girls' Gymnastics State Championship all-around title last night at Beverly High School, 37 girls put their routines to the test. Usually only one comes out on top, but last night Ali Carr of Chelmsford and Kim O'Donnell of Reading shared that glory, both scoring 37.95 to split the all-around crown.

The two girls traded leads throughout the meet and knew that it would be close in the end. Carr, a junior, admitted to feeling a lot of pressure during the competition because she was seeded first.

"[O'Donnell] is a good person to tie with and I like her a lot," Carr said.

Though Carr fell on the balance beam on a back handspring layout, she said that she was still pleased with the outcome.

Both all-around champions will compete again Friday in the MIAA North and South sectional competition with their teams in hopes of advancing to the state meet.

O'Donnell, a senior, wished that she would have performed better on the beam, but said, "Overall, I'm pretty happy."

Coming into the competition last night, O'Donnell said, "I didn't put any pressure on myself. I just wanted to do my best my senior year."

After the competition, the Mass. Girls Gymnastics Association named Allison Szatek of Barnstable Senior Gymnast of the Year and Paula Chausse of Dracut Coach of the Year.

Though unable to compete in the all-around competition because of a knee injury, Szatek was honored to receive the award.

"It was a total surprise because I know so many girls who work so hard," Szatek said.

The state's High School Senior National team was also announced. Headed to Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla., May 24-25 to represent Massachusetts are O'Donnell, Szatek, Melissa Bowe (Barnstable), Jessica Corneau (Salem), Valerie LeBoeuf (Attleboro), Chelsea Rossetti (Masconomet), Jenna Woods (Notre Dame), and Molly Wong (Salem).