Gymnasts set sights on regional

The Patriots reached state in 2014 for the first time in program history and haven’t sniffed regional since.

They’ve been sixth, ninth, ninth and seventh at sectional in the last four years.

Three experienced seniors, a junior who ditched her club season to compete for her school, another junior and a sophomore are primed to reverse the luck this year.

“I just kind of put the thought in their mind early on that we are capable of doing that this year and they’ve definitely taken to the challenge,” said Jay County High School gymnastics coach Jill Ranly, whose team opens its season at home Thursday against Marion. “Last year our goal was to get (a team score of) 100, and this year we should never be under 100. We haven’t set a number goal yet, but I really think these girls have the potential to get out of sectional as a team.

“If it’s not in the books this year … we definitely can get some individuals out.”

Senior Karlie Bullard was the closest to getting out of sectional last season. She was eighth on floor exercise with her score of 9.275, a mere 0.075 shy of the sixth and final regional qualifying spot (sixth place).

“At the time, it was pretty difficult when I found out how close I was to regional,” she said. “My mindset going into it last year was to just perform to the best of my abilities and execute my new skills well. I left it all on the floor and met all of the goals I set for myself. That was the most important accomplishment for me.

“Going into this year I can use that moment as fuel to work even harder. Looking back on it now, sectionals last year gave me a sense of accomplishment and made me realize that I am closer than I think to advancing and meeting a lot larger goals.”

Ranly said she is confident her top senior will be able to make the jump to regional.

Riley Leavell and Randi Ferguson give the Patriots a three-pronged senior class that has been competing together for a while. It gives the squad a source of leadership it hasn’t had in the past as the team was without a senior last year.

Ranly can use it to her advantage, too.

“It’s a little different,” she said. “We’ve always talked about how I’ve had a young team. Not this year. Everybody comes in with experience. It is a whole new ball game with this team.

“They help each other all the time; ways to improve a skill, ways to add to a routine. That as a coach is important to me because I’m not having to be at every piece of equipment all practice long.”

Leavell battled some injuries as a junior and as a result was not able to compete on floor exercise and score as an all-around competitor. She enters her senior campaign free of pain and primed to compete on all four events. At sectional, Leavell was 25th on uneven bars, 30th on balance beam and 31st on vault.

Ferguson is the lone Patriot who is not an all-around athlete as she doesn’t compete on bars. Ranly said she’s in the process of perfecting her routines on the other three events. She only competed on floor at sectional as a junior and was 28th.

Paige Howell and Halle Hill are the squad’s juniors, and sophomore Kenzie Ring rounds out the six-member team. Howell, who was 23rd on floor, 29th on vault and 32nd on beam, is expected to miss a couple meets to start the season with an injury.

Hill is a newcomer to the team but not to the sport as she spent her freshman and sophomore seasons competing in the club circuit. Ranly said her addition hasn’t caused any issues.

“Halle has blended right into this team dynamic from day one,” she said. “It’s like she has been a part of this team forever.”

Her ceiling is high, too.

“She has the potential to get some very high scores on every piece of equipment,” Ranly added. “Her routines are clean and they have a lot of difficulty. I’m excited to see what kind of scores Halle gets.”

The youngest member of the team, Ring was 13th on beam, 18th on bars and 21st on floor and vault during her freshman season.

“Kenzie is working really hard on every piece of equipment,” Ranly said.