Comeback complete

Katie Snyder went to the state finals a year ago. But she did so as a spectator.
A broken left arm had finished her season, putting an end to her hopes of a return trip to the state finals.
Now a junior at Jay County High School, Snyder is looking forward to competing on the vault in Saturday’s IHSAA Gymnastics State Finals at Ball State University’s Worthen Arena.
“I’m excited,” said Snyder, who finished 29th on the event as a freshman. “I’d just like to be able to say I got a state medal. That’s just a big thing.
“I don’t even care what color it is. I just want one. That would be awesome.”
Her focus all season has been on a state medal and the school record despite the fact that her future in the sport was once in doubt.
Snyder suffered her broken arm when she fell from the high bar at the Connersville Invitational. One of the doctors who treated her in the ensuing weeks said she might not ever compete again.
She quickly proved that theory incorrect, returning to the gym less than four months after her injury. She was once again Jay County’s leader this year, helping the team finish as the sectional runner-up for the fourth straight year and advance to the regional for the 10th season in a row.
“She’s just a hard worker,” said JCHS coach Lora Schlosser. “She’s dedicated to the sport.
“You can’t ask for anyone to work any harder.
“It’s nice to see her succeed. It’s nice to see her come back after that accident last year. I know it devastated her last year. She came back strong.”
Snyder has been strong in the tournament thus far.
At the Muncie Central sectional she posted a 9.2 on the vault to win the championship by 0.15 points over Jessica Baker of Huntington North. Baker finished 10th in the state on the event last season and ninth in 2010.
Snyder bumped up her score to a 9.3 to finish fifth at the Huntington North regional.
Her career-best score is a 9.5, and she said her goal for Saturday is to bump that up to a 9.6.
“A 9.6 would be near perfect, because it’s only worth a 9.8,” said Schlosser. “What she needs to do is she needs to have a flawless entry … good block, plenty of height, plenty of distance with good form and a stuck landing.”Schlosser said if Snyder’s first attempt at her Yurchenko in the piked position scores well enough — 9.3 or better — she may switch to a layout for her second vault. That would bump the start value up to a 10.0.
Although she’s competing in the all-around Saturday, Snyder will still get to perform routines on the balance beam and uneven bars. She was selected to be the “base score” gymnast for those events, performing to give the judges a gauge for the rest of the day.
She’ll perform on the beam at 10:16 a.m. and bars at 10:52 a.m. before warming up on the vault at 12:10. The state finals begin at 12:30, with Snyder slated as the third competitor on the vault.
“I’m excited and I’m kind of not,” Snyder said of her early competition time. “I get to go (early) and get it done and over with. … The waiting game is going to be the hardest part, if my score is (potentially) good enough to get a medal. That is going to kill me.”
Snyder is continuing a strong recent trend for Patriot gymnasts as she makes her second trip to the state meet.
Hannah Williams went three times from 2003 through 2006, earning state medals on the beam in her junior and senior seasons. Nadlie Runyon was a two-time state qualifier and earned a state medal on the beam in 2009.
The sixth-place scored at the state finals has ranged between 9.55 and 9.675 over the last three seasons.
So if Snyder is able to break the school record — a 9.575 by Danae Klatt — she would have a chance to walk away with Jay County’s fourth state medal in the last eight years.
“I don’t know if she’d be able to walk away. I think she would float away,” said Schlosser. “It would be very exciting.”[[In-content Ad]]