July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Offseason work shows in opener (12/16/04)
JCHS gymnastics
Offseason work shows in opener (12/16/04)
By By RAY COONEY-
PORTLAND — The hype is not unfounded.
The Jay County gymnastics team showed Wednesday why it is heavily favored to win a third straight sectional this season. With two gymnasts throwing Tsukaharas on the vault and a freshman notching a no-fall balance beam routine, the home Patriots clobbered the visiting Heritage Patriots 95.05-74.1.
The score also put them ahead of last season, when they scored a 94.10 in their first meet. They went on to a season-best score of 102.5 to win the 2004 sectional title.
“I think this is the most ready we’ve ever been for the first meet,” said Jay County coach Kristin (Rees) Millspaugh, whose team swept the top three spots in every event against Heritage. “I was very encouraged by what I saw tonight.”
Jay County was prepared thanks to constant off-season work. It practiced in Marion once a week throughout the offseason, and worked on newly choreographed floor exercise routines at Ball State prior to the start of this season.
They showed the pay-off Wednesday, especially in the opening event.
As the second-to-last vaulter, senior Melissa Fifer threw a Tsukahara (a half-twist onto the vault, followed by a back flip). She held on to her first ever attempt in competition, and her second was even better. However, any possible scores did not count because Millspaugh served as a spotter.
Hannah Williams followed without the spotter and landed both of her attempts, scoring a first-place 9.0.
Despite the voided score, Fifer was clearly excited about her effort on the vault and later on her no-fall balance beam routine for which she scored a third-place 7.4.
“It was outstanding,” said Fifer of her overall impression of the team’s first meet. “I hit my Tsuks and my back handspring on beam. I’ve been working on those really hard.
“I think our scores will increase. Floor and beam will become more graceful. We’ll be used to it and won’t be as nervous.”
Fifer also pointed to Erika Hunt’s balance beam routine as a highlight of the night.
Hunt, a freshman who finished second on the vault with an 8.1, was even better on the balance beam. She was the only competitor other than Fifer to finish her routine without a fall as she tied Williams for first place in the event with an 8.1.
She also added a third-place finish on the uneven parallel bars with a 6.9.
“I was really nervous before the meet, all day,” said Hunt after the first competition of her high school career. “Now I feel good about how everything went.”
The meet also saw the return of two gymnasts — senior Lacey Grider and sophomore Lacey Thornburg — who missed most of last season with injuries. They each placed in the top three in a pair of events.
Grider was second to Williams and Hunt on the beam with a 7.5, and Thornburg was second behind Williams (7.85) on the bars with a 7.35. The Laceys shared the third-place score of 7.5 on the vault.
Williams also finished first in the floor exercise with an 8.9 as she scored a 33.85 all-around. Amy Emerick of Heritage was the only other varsity gymnast to post an all-around score as she finished with a 27.15, which included a high score of 7.4 on the vault.
Millspaugh said the team’s goal for the first meet was to score a 96, but she also expects the numbers to jump fairly quickly.
“You don’t ever see very high scores at a first meet anyway,” she said. “(The judges) still think it’s their job to find stuff for you to work on during the season and areas to improve.”
She also noted that the team had two fewer weeks to practice this year thanks to a change in the IHSAA calendar. She said she thinks some strong practices over the Christmas break from school will have her team primed for another strong season.
“I think just with that two weeks of having full floor routines and working with the high beam they’ll get more comfortable,” she said.
Jay sweeps JV
Jay County’s junior varsity team score was just under that of the Heritage varsity at 73.5. Heritage did not post a JV team score.
The home Patriots swept the JV events, with a different winner in each one. Sarah Ullom posted the high JV score with a 7.3 to win the vault, and Heather Stevens and Erika Hunt tied for the floor exercise win with scores of 7.25.
Lacey Grider was first on the uneven parallel bars at 6.3, and Kristin Brown took the beam with a 6.0. Stevens finished with a JV all-around score of 23.9.[[In-content Ad]]
The Jay County gymnastics team showed Wednesday why it is heavily favored to win a third straight sectional this season. With two gymnasts throwing Tsukaharas on the vault and a freshman notching a no-fall balance beam routine, the home Patriots clobbered the visiting Heritage Patriots 95.05-74.1.
The score also put them ahead of last season, when they scored a 94.10 in their first meet. They went on to a season-best score of 102.5 to win the 2004 sectional title.
“I think this is the most ready we’ve ever been for the first meet,” said Jay County coach Kristin (Rees) Millspaugh, whose team swept the top three spots in every event against Heritage. “I was very encouraged by what I saw tonight.”
Jay County was prepared thanks to constant off-season work. It practiced in Marion once a week throughout the offseason, and worked on newly choreographed floor exercise routines at Ball State prior to the start of this season.
They showed the pay-off Wednesday, especially in the opening event.
As the second-to-last vaulter, senior Melissa Fifer threw a Tsukahara (a half-twist onto the vault, followed by a back flip). She held on to her first ever attempt in competition, and her second was even better. However, any possible scores did not count because Millspaugh served as a spotter.
Hannah Williams followed without the spotter and landed both of her attempts, scoring a first-place 9.0.
Despite the voided score, Fifer was clearly excited about her effort on the vault and later on her no-fall balance beam routine for which she scored a third-place 7.4.
“It was outstanding,” said Fifer of her overall impression of the team’s first meet. “I hit my Tsuks and my back handspring on beam. I’ve been working on those really hard.
“I think our scores will increase. Floor and beam will become more graceful. We’ll be used to it and won’t be as nervous.”
Fifer also pointed to Erika Hunt’s balance beam routine as a highlight of the night.
Hunt, a freshman who finished second on the vault with an 8.1, was even better on the balance beam. She was the only competitor other than Fifer to finish her routine without a fall as she tied Williams for first place in the event with an 8.1.
She also added a third-place finish on the uneven parallel bars with a 6.9.
“I was really nervous before the meet, all day,” said Hunt after the first competition of her high school career. “Now I feel good about how everything went.”
The meet also saw the return of two gymnasts — senior Lacey Grider and sophomore Lacey Thornburg — who missed most of last season with injuries. They each placed in the top three in a pair of events.
Grider was second to Williams and Hunt on the beam with a 7.5, and Thornburg was second behind Williams (7.85) on the bars with a 7.35. The Laceys shared the third-place score of 7.5 on the vault.
Williams also finished first in the floor exercise with an 8.9 as she scored a 33.85 all-around. Amy Emerick of Heritage was the only other varsity gymnast to post an all-around score as she finished with a 27.15, which included a high score of 7.4 on the vault.
Millspaugh said the team’s goal for the first meet was to score a 96, but she also expects the numbers to jump fairly quickly.
“You don’t ever see very high scores at a first meet anyway,” she said. “(The judges) still think it’s their job to find stuff for you to work on during the season and areas to improve.”
She also noted that the team had two fewer weeks to practice this year thanks to a change in the IHSAA calendar. She said she thinks some strong practices over the Christmas break from school will have her team primed for another strong season.
“I think just with that two weeks of having full floor routines and working with the high beam they’ll get more comfortable,” she said.
Jay sweeps JV
Jay County’s junior varsity team score was just under that of the Heritage varsity at 73.5. Heritage did not post a JV team score.
The home Patriots swept the JV events, with a different winner in each one. Sarah Ullom posted the high JV score with a 7.3 to win the vault, and Heather Stevens and Erika Hunt tied for the floor exercise win with scores of 7.25.
Lacey Grider was first on the uneven parallel bars at 6.3, and Kristin Brown took the beam with a 6.0. Stevens finished with a JV all-around score of 23.9.[[In-content Ad]]
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