Photo courtesy of Photoworks Pictured is the 2019-20 Marshall gymnastics team.

MARSHALL — The Marshall gymnastics team had to battle a tough schedule last year with an unpredictable winter season. This year, the Tigers were challenged with another roadblock, as injuries held some key members of their team on the sidelines for part of the season. But Marshall continued to show fight and grit, battling their way to a sixth-place finish at the section meet and qualifying a pair of gymnasts to the state tournament.

Coach Larvita McFarquhar was extremely proud of her team for continuing to work hard on new skills every day.

“I thought they did wonderful,” coach McFarquhar said. “I’m really proud of the way they came out and were willing to work hard on new skills throughout the season.”

With the team unfortunately hit by the injury bug at different moments of the season, the Tigers turned to some of their younger gymnasts to fill in their shoes. Coach McFarquhar said it was great to see the younger athletes step up to the challenges and have them come together and grow as a team throughout the season.

“Just seeing their strength as a team as well as their camaraderie, cheering everybody on,” she said. “We had a couple of injuries during the season, but it was great to see them step up and help coach the other girls to get them to where they needed to be.”

Their hard work paid off, as both Saphi and Cameen McFarquhar qualified for the state meet.

Marshall didn’t have any seniors this season, so it’ll return a strong core group. Coach McFarquhar said they’re looking forward to seeing where they’ll go as a team next year.

“We didn’t have any seniors, so we’re really excited for our group coming back next year. I’m excited to see how they’ll grow and learn new skills and work on them,” coach McFarquhar said. “And then having our veteran gymnasts teaching our younger ones to continue to work hard and help them push to the next level.”