Cox gymnasts capture first state title
18.05.12
VIRGINIA BEACH
Time for some ink.
Red and black ink, that is - the colors of a ladybug.
The insect has long been the symbol of good luck for the Cox gymnastics team, which going into Friday's Group AAA championships at Salem had finished second eight times.
Friday, the bug paid off: The Falcons won their first state championship, leaving coach Melody Hartranft to pay off a beginning-of-the-season bet of getting a ladybug tattoo.
"(Assistant coach Jaudon Felch) told the girls that she'd get a ladybug tattoo if we won state this year," said Hartranft, who has guided the Falcons to six of their runner-up finishes. "So I said I'd get one, too. We're not even tattoo people.
"But we pinky shook on it. So it looks like we're getting tattoos."
Cox finished with a total of 148.075 to run away from Washington-Lee, which finished with 146.2.
Freedom was third, followed by Kellam in fourth.
The action continues at 1 p.m. today with the Virginia Open Individual competition.
Source: The Virginian-Pilot