Ring gets senior night win

A team victory wasn’t in the cards for the mostly inexperienced Patriots.

But they showed improvement from their opening outing Saturday. And their lone senior was able to pick up an event win in the final home meet of her career.

Kenzie Ring’s victory on the balance beam highlighted the evening as the Jay County High School gymnastics team bumped up its score by a couple of points Thursday night in a 93.825-82.275 loss to the visiting Huntington North Vikings.

“They did a lot better than they did Saturday,” said JCHS coach Melynda James, whose team posted a score of 80.3 in the season-opening Northwestern Invitational. “A lot of improvements. …

“They have improved so much from last meet. I’m very proud of them.”

Ring posted the Patriots’ top score on all four events, with her 7.9 on the beam edging Huntington North’s Janna Teusch by just 0.025 points. While she had one fall — an automatic half-point deduction — she was able to hit some key elements of her routine to come away with the victory.

“I landed my round-off, and my jumps were a lot better than they normally are,” said Ring, the team’s only senior following Jay County’s lone home meet this year. “And my dismount was a lot better.”

She also hit her front handspring, front layout during her floor exercise routine to help her place second with an 8.1. She was third on the uneven parallel bars with a 6.725 and third in the all-around with a total of 31.175 points.

While Ring won the beam for the Patriots, who will return to action Saturday at the Western Invitational, Huntington North earned the remainder of the victories with a mix of athletes.

Chloe Camomile was first on bars with a 7.675 and also took the top spot in the all-around with a total of 31.65, Teusch placed first on the vault with an 8.6 and Emma Wilson won the floor with an 8.45.

Junior Macy Miller, a transfer from Delta, and Ring scored for Jay County on all four events, with Ring adding an 8.45 on the vault. Miller’s top score also came on the vault as she finished just behind her teammate with an 8.4 for her half-on, full-off. She added a 7.6 on the floor exercise, a 7.125 on the balance beam and a 6.7 on the bars.

Freshmen Karci Hopkins and Makinsey Murphy handled the remainder of the scoring. Hopkins was third on the team on the floor with a 6.675 while Murphy matched Miller with an 8.4 on the vault and added a 6.2 on the balance beam.

“Makinsey Murphy, she did an outstanding job,” said James. “She improved significantly on vault and beam as well. … She did such a good job. She’s working hard. All the girls are working hard.”

Jay County did not have a third competitor on the bars, though James plans to add freshman Erin Ring, Kenzie’s sister, to the lineup in order to help boost the team score.