Seventh on vault

MUNCIE — Katie Snyder was happy after her vault scored flashed.
It was her best of the season; second-best of her career. And it came in the biggest meet of the year.
By the end of the day, however, she was heartbroken.
The Jay County High School junior got knocked out of medal position at the last possible moment, finishing seventh on the vault Saturday at the IHSAA Gymnastics State Finals at Ball State University’s Worthen Arena.
At a meet in which the top six competitors earn state medals, Snyder’s score of 9.475 had her locked in a three-way tie for sixth place with just one gymnast remaining. But Franklin Central’s Emily Baker came through with a score of 9.55, dropping Snyder to seventh.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Snyder. “As soon as I saw it, I started crying.
“I basically crumbled. … It was hard.”
Snyder was at her peak on the state stage, especially on her second vault.
The vault entry that she had worked to fix all week was clean, and her arms and body were straight as she pushed off of the vault table. She had good form on her pike, and stuck the landing.
The judges rewarded her with the 9.475, which easily surpassed her season best of 9.3 and came up just short of her career-best of 9.5.
“It was clean,” said JCHS coach Lora Schlosser. “Her pike was solid. A lot of times she has bent legs so it’s questionable whether it’s a tuck or pike. Today I think it was solid.
“She had a lot of height. She had openness when she landed.
“It was a good strong vault. She got a great score.”
Snyder was the third competitor of the day on the event, and her score put her in first place.It was a number that she thought would keep her in the top 10, but not in medal contention. Over the course of the last three seasons, it has taken at least a 9.55 to earn a state medal on the vault.
But as the competition continued, hope for a state medal began to grow.
Snyder was still in second place after the first of four rotations. Midway through the meet, she was tied for fifth. And she remained there heading into the final rotation.
“I didn’t really expect to be sitting in second after the first rotation,” said Snyder. “(Waiting) wasn’t too bad until the fourth rotation started and we were in fifth and I knew I didn’t have much more room to move. … After (Valparaiso’s Morgan Algozine) went, I started getting more and more nervous.”
Algozine was the favorite in the event, and she showed why with a near-perfect score. Her 9.95 took over first place and dropped Snyder into a three-way tie for sixth with seven gymnasts remaining.
As the meet wound down Snyder couldn’t take the waiting, leaving her seat for a brief walk in the arena. But she was back in time to see Baker compete.
And when the Franklin Central senior’s result flashed on the scoreboard, she dropped her head into her hands as tears took over.
Given some time to reflect on the day Snyder said she was proud of her effort, “but I’m still disappointed.”
“I’m glad I moved up 22 spaces from my freshman year,” she added. “I don’t have much to be disappointed about. But knowing you were that close to getting a state medal, it’s rough.”
Algozine won not only the vault title but also took first place on the floor exercise with a 9.675 and claimed the all-around title with a 38.75. Angola’s Alex Nickel won the other two state championships, posting scores of 9.75 on the uneven bars and 9.6 on the balance beam.
Bishop Dwenger ended Valparaiso’s run of four straight state titles, knocking off the Vikings 112.55-111.975.
Snyder’s seventh-place finish came about 13 months after a broken left arm ended her sophomore season. She came back strong, moving all the way into the top 10 after finishing 29th in the state on the vault with a 9.3 in 2010.
She is the third Patriot gymnasts since 2005 to make multiple trips to the state finals, joining Nadlie Runyon and Hannah Williams. And she said being so close to earning a state medal this season has her even more motivated to return next year.
“Most definitely,” Snyder said. “I want to go in all-around instead of just vault next year.”[[In-content Ad]]