Beam is best shot (03/12/2009)

The challenges only get tougher.

After finishing second at the sectional meet Saturday, the Jay County High School gymnastics team heads to Friday's regional meet at Huntington North. That field will include three state-ranked teams, including No. 2 Bishop Dwenger.

The second-ranked Saints will be favored to run away with the regional title after scoring 110.625 points to win the sectional title. No. 11 Snider and No. 15 Northrop each topped the 105-point mark at the sectional - they eliminated No. 8 Concordia - and Marion has been consistently over 100 points this year.

The Patriots' 98.213 at the sectional meet was their second-highest score of the season.

So, with only the top two teams moving on to the state finals, Jay County's opportunity for advancement is in the individual realm. The top six athletes in each event also earn a trip to the state meet.

"Individually there's a chance that they could get out, especially on beam," said JCHS coach Kristin Millspaugh, whose team is making its seventh straight trip to regional, before practice Wednesday. "Beam is such a wildcard event. ..."

The balance beam is so unpredictable because a single slip could be the difference between a state berth and a finish outside of the top 10. Each fall counts as a half-point deduction, so staying on the beam is paramount.

Junior Nadlie Runyon enters as the Patriots' top seed on the beam at No. 14 after finishing eighth at the sectional meet. Her score of 8.475 included a fall on the dismount. Erase that fall, and she would have bumped all the way up to second place.

The No. 6 seed for the regional is Allycia Gaffer of Northrop at 8.95.

"She just needs to do the routine she does in practice all the time," said Millspaugh. "Any time she gets the choice, she's on beam. And she can nail routine after routine, every time, here, including sticking that dismount. ... It's one of her goals to make it to state and beam is definitely where she has the best chance."

Sophomore Kristen Ainsworth was 12th in the sectional with a one-fall routine for an 8.05. At last season's regional she turned in a no-fall routine and placed ninth, three tenths of a point short of a state berth.

Millspaugh said she'd also love to see sophomore Kyli Kelso nail a beam routine after falling twice for a 7.688 in the sectional meet. Kelso battled illness and injury for a good portion of the season.

"She's just had a rough year and kept a really positive attitude," said Millspaugh. "You root for those kind of kids. I think if she does (hit her routine) she could have a really good score, and that would be a nice end to a really frustrating season for her."

While balance beam may present the best chance for a state berth, Jay County's highest seed is on the bars. Runyon is seeded 13th on the vent after a sectional meet in which she scored a career-high 8.55 to tie for third.

Ainsworth added a season-high score (8.05) and Stormi Metcalf had a career best (7.85) as the Patriots won the bars at the sectional.

Regardless of placing, Millspaugh said she'd like to see a repeat performance at the regional.

"That was the highest bar score that she had all season," said Millspaugh. "They were nice, clean bar routines. At this point in the week we're still planning on taking some more chances on bars."

In other events, Runyon is seeded 16th on the floor exercise at 8.4 and Ainsworth is the No. 19 seed on the vault at 8.75. No. 6 seeds are Ashley St. Myers of Snider on bars (8.85) and floor (8.95), and Oak Hill's Brittany Pond on vault (9.15).

Millspaugh said she'd like to see her team have another solid, consistent evening on the vault, and would like to see floor scores go up a bit.

The Patriots were in the first rotation on the floor exercise at the sectional meet. Friday night they will start on the bars as they rotate with Bishop Dwenger.

And in addition to chasing individual state berths, Millspaugh said she'd like to see her team take full advantage of its final opportunity to compete as a group this year.

"The first meet we had with Marion they beat us by eight points, and the second one it was just around four," said Millspaugh, noting that she doesn't think her team has peaked yet this year. "So if we can narrow that margin a little bit more I'd be really happy with that. Marion's a really solid, consistent team this year."

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