Snyder takes vault

MUNCIE — Katie Snyder left the 2011 sectional meet dejected.
That feeling came not because of a bad performance, but because a broken left arm kept her from competing at all.
She had thought she had the opportunity to compete for sectional championships, especially on the vault.
A year later, that proved to be true.
Snyder, a Jay County High School junior, captured the vault sectional title Saturday at Muncie Central while leading the Patriots to a runner-up finish for the fourth straight season.
JCHS put up its second-best team score of the year with 100.775 points to finish second behind defending champion Huntington North, which won with a season high of 105.275.
Muncie Central scored 94.65 points to finish third in the sectional that includes nine schools, but had only four of those fielding full teams. Muncie Southside was fourth with 72.075.
The top three teams, and top six individuals on each event and in the all-around competition, advance to the regional at Huntington North on Friday at 6 p.m.
The best effort for Snyder came on her favorite event, on which she qualified for state during her freshman season. She hit her piked Yurchenko — a round-off onto the springboard followed by a back handspring onto the vaulting table and then a somersault — to post a 9.2 and win the event by 0.15 points.
Snyder said the victory, which marked her first sectional title after she finished as the vault runner-up during her freshman season, was especially gratifying given that it came against a gymnast the caliber of her friend Jessica Baker of Huntington North.
“She was so disappointed after last season,” added JCHS coach Schlosser. “She was in here in tears last year leaving sectional because she couldn’t compete. Her vault was going really well last year. …“She’s worked hard on her vault, worked all summer with it, and she came here and came out on top.”
Snyder, Malarie Houck and Tasya Smith each scored for the Patriots on all four events to lead them to the second-place effort, and finished third, fifth and sixth respectively in the all-around. JCHS only scored better in their final meet of the regular season, when they posted 101.25 points at home to defeat Hagerstown and Muncie Central.
In addition to her vault championship, Snyder was the runner-up with a 9.05 on the floor exercise and finished third on the uneven bars with an 8.625 for an all-around score of 34.35.
Baker, who won the balance beam state title in 2011 and also finished third on bars and sixth all-around, won sectional titles on the floor (9.425) and beam (9.25) while also taking the all-around crown (36.625). It was the first time this year she has competed in all four events after missing much of the season with an injury.
Her teammate, Stephanie Freeman, posted a 9.4 to win the bars.
While Jay County’s best team scores came on the vault and floor, Schlosser was most pleased with its effort on the bars.
In addition to Snyder’s third-place finish, Smith matched a career-high with an 8.35 for third place. Houck rounded out the team score with a 7.75 for a 22.95 total, and Cortney Myers also scored a career-best with a 7.4.
“We did really well on bars today,” said Schlosser. “It was a good solid team score, one of the highest we’ve put up this year. … I’m really proud of what they did on bars.”
The Patriots posted their highest total — 25.4 — on the vault, where Smith and Houck each performed a half-full and tied for fifth place at 8.7.
All four Jay County gymnasts placed among the top six on the floor exercise, with Houck tallying a career-best 8.675 for fifth place, and Smith and Pryor each finishing at 8.45 to tie for sixth. It was a career-best score for Smith, who Schlosser said showed greater confidence as she had a strong day overall.
“I think the nervousness isn’t there and the frustration isn’t there,” she said of Smith, who added a 7.65 with a no-fall routine on the beam. “She’s more relaxed. So I think that helps.”
Houck, a freshman, also turned in a no-fall beam routine and was the only Patriot to place on the event, taking fifth with an 8.15.
Also competing for the Patriots Saturday were Cortney Myers with an 8.45 on the vault and Olivia Cash with a 6.2 on the beam.[[In-content Ad]]