Patriots take opener

With their mix of experience and newcomers, the Patriots were easily the best team in the gym.
Katie Snyder, a 2010 state qualifier, won three events and newcomers Nikita Gundersen and Tasya Smith scored for Jay County on multiple events Thursday. They combined with seniors Kristen Ainsworth and Melynda Brackman to sweep the meet against the visiting Blackford Bruins and Marion Giants on the way to a score of 99.275.
Blackford’s gymnasts posted a 64.8, and Marion did not have enough athletes for a team score.
 “I think overall the girls did pretty well,” said JCHS coach Lora Schlosser. “I was pleased with their floor scores. I was pleased with some of their beam. Bars I thought we were strong. The team score was pretty strong.”
Jay County’s score was just a shade under what it posted at the 2010 sectional meet — 99.35. It opened last season with a 94.9 and topped out with a 102.675 in the final meet of the regular season.
Snyder, a sophomore who finished 29th in the state on the vault last season, posted the high score on the event in the season opener Thursday. She stuck her first Tsukahara attempt and easily won with a score of 9.2.
She turned in a strong floor exercise routine with the addition of new dance elements for an 8.8, and also took the top spot on the uneven bars with an 8.5.
“She feels good,” said Schlosser of Snyder, who added an 8.05 on the balance beam for a winning all-around score of 34.55. “She knows she’s worked hard and she’s revved up her difficulty, so I think she is a lot more confident.
“Katie had excellent bars. If we can build on that, that’s great. And she had a great floor.”
Ainsworth and Gundersen, a foreign exchange student from Norway, shared the other event victory for the Patriots. Both had just one fall on the balance beam as they finished with matching scores of 8.3.
Along with Snyder, who had two falls, Jay County’s top three routines on the event all showed potential to score at least in the high 8s.
“I’m pretty pleased with our beam,” said Schlosser. “Even with a few falls, we did pretty well.
“I think beam can be a pretty strong event if we hit.”
Ainsworth added a runner-up finish on the bars with a 7.8. Gundersen tied with Smith for third on the event with a 7.0, and was also third on the floor with an 8.025.
“(Ainsworth’s) bars was pretty good, she kept flowing,” said Schlosser. “Her beam was pretty clean.
“(Gundersen) is physically strong. I think by the end of the season you’re going to see stronger elements, because she has that ability.
“I was pleased with her.”
Smith and Brackman each turned in runner-up efforts behind Snyder.
On the vault, Smith opened her career with an 8.55 for second place. Brackman took second on the floor with an 8.25, and she was also third on the vault with an 8.5.
With the impressive opening-meet team score, Schlosser said cleaning up the little things will be a key to improvement as the season goes along.
“Execution was a problem,” she said. “A lot of judges wrote ‘execution’ on a lot of stuff. We’re going to really try to focus on that.”
Four different gymnasts each posted top scores for Jay County in junior varsity events.
Freshman Olivia Cash turned in the highest of those totals with an 8.0 to win the vault. Jessi Chittum was first on the floor with a 7.4, Lauren Runkle took the beam with a 6.925 and Brackman was first on the bars with a 5.125.[[In-content Ad]]