Nearly perfect balance (03/14/2009)

HUNTINGTON - Nadlie Runyon felt good when she landed her dismount off the balance beam.

Minutes later, after the judges flashed her score as a 9.6, it was impossible to wipe the smile off her face.

And after a few minutes more she began shaking as coach Kristin Millspaugh told her the score was not only good enough to guarantee her a trip to the state finals but also the best in the history of Jay County High School.

Runyon had a career evening on the balance beam Friday, earning a berth in the IHSAA Gymnastics State Finals with her runner-up finish at the Huntington North regional meet.

"I just kind of lost it there," said Runyon of her reaction after learning she broke the school record. "I didn't really know what to think. Because that's been one of my goals, just to get my name up on that board. And also going to state.

"It's really awesome, just knowing that all that hard work pays off. You're going somewhere that not everyone gets to go to."

Runyon's effort also led the best team score on the balance beam in Patriot history, helping JCHS to break 100 for the first time this season. The squad posted a total of 100.25 points to finish in fifth place.

The score improved on last week's Muncie Central sectional by nearly two points. It also put the Patriots just 1.5 points behind Marion, and team that beat them by eight during the regular season and nearly four at the sectional.

"I never thought we'd break 100 here after we didn't at sectional," said Millspaugh, complimenting her teams' guts and mental toughness at the regional. "It all fell into place today.

"It's always our goal every year that I've coached to break 100. ... One hundred even was the school record until the year 2000. To me that's an exciting thing to every year be able to have a team break what used to be the school record for so long."

Second-ranked Bishop

Dwenger won its 10th straight regional championship with a score of 113.175. No. 11 Snider was second with 105.55, narrowly edging No. 15 Northrop (105.2) for a trip to the state finals.

Marion was fourth at 101.625, and Muncie Central was sixth at 97.5.

The top two teams and top six individuals on each event earn trips to the state finals.

Runyon was seeded 14th on the balance beam based on sectional scores, but she earned her trip to state with a near-perfect effort at the regional. She hit everything in her routine, including the dismount that resulted in a fall a week earlier at the sectional tournament.

Her score of 9.6 was second only to the 9.75 posted by Bishop Dwenger's Alicia Roche.

"I just calmed myself down," said Runyon. "I knew I would do better if I was more relaxed. I just took a deep breath before I went ... I knew my routine was going well, so I didn't do the handstands that I normally do, just so I could keep it on the safe side. I felt really good about it."

And she had good reason.

Her score was a career-best by a wide margin, and broke the school record of 9.55 set by Hannah Williams at the 2004 sectional meet. It also surpassed the state cut mark of 9.525, meaning she would have made the state finals even had she not finished in the top six at the regional.

"She's done that routine in practice over and over and over again," said Millspaugh.

"She was just really solid.

"Of course as soon as I saw a 9.6 I thought that would place in the top six, but ... it was kind of nice to relax the rest of the day and know she was going on. We didn't have to wait the rest of the meet waiting for the beam scores to be flashed and keeping track of things."

Runyon's school-record effort capped an outstanding night on the balance beam for the Patriots as a whole.

After counting four falls among their top three gymnasts at the sectional meet, Runyon, Kristen Ainsworth and Kyli Kelso put together three no-fall routines at the their biggest meet of the year.

Ainsworth hit a back tuck on the way to a career-best 8.9, which was good for 12th place. Kelso fought off a few bobbles and landed her back handspring for a 15th-place 8.65.

Those three combined for a total of 27.15, which shattered the old team mark of 26.65 set by Williams, Amanda Knight and Kayla Smith in 2004. And the record-breaking trio followed junior Stormi Metcalf, who also posted a career-best with a one-fall 7.8.

"That's the best routine she's ever done, even with the fall in it," said Millspaugh of Metcalf. "The rest of it was just solid and lots cleaner than she's ever done. So she started us off right. ...

"I don't know how many people noticed, but (Kyli) was having an asthma attack through that beam routine. She couldn't even breathe for the last three skills she had to do. It was really exciting to see her ... beat her personal best by six tenths. That's awesome to do that here.

"And then Kristen and Nadlie, I've known all along that they could score that high, they just hadn't done it yet this year. And they definitely hadn't done it on the same day."

"It couldn't have gotten any better than those four did on beam today."

In addition to her balance beam effort, Runyon was also the high scorer for Jay County on the uneven bars (8.35 - ninth) and floor exercise (8.7 - 12th). She added an 8.45 on the vault for a ninth-place all-around score of 35.1.

Ainsworth also scored for the Patriots on all four events, including a 14th-place 8.85 on the vault. She added an 8.325 on the floor for 18th place and a 7.2 on the bars for 24th.

"Today I think everybody threw everything almost," said Millspaugh. "Kristen had a vault she wasn't comfortable with, but she did it tonight. She threw all the difficulty back in her bar routine ... Kristen threw a tuck on beam that she hasn't thrown in several weeks."

Metcalf tied with Runyon for 21st place on the vault at 8.45, and was also 22nd on the bars at 7.4. Melynda Brackman finished 26th on the floor exercise with a 7.35.[[In-content Ad]]