Patriot gymnasts finish 2nd in sectional (03/05/07)

MUNCIE - Jay County had its best day of the season. And for the second year in a row, all that stood between the Patriots and a sectional title were the Huntington North Vikings.

Huntington North used mammoth efforts on the floor exercise and vault to hurdle Jay County and take the gymnastics sectional title at Muncie Central by a 103.4-102.225 margin.

The scores were the highest of the season for both teams.

"We're thrilled with the team score ... and really happy with the vault scores," said JCHS coach Kristin Millspaugh, whose team now has three straight second-place finishes after winning titles in 2003 and 2004. "I was very happy with bars. I thought that would be our lowest score of the day ... I was really surprised with our bar routines. We really pulled through on bars."

Huntington North, Jay County and third-place finisher Marion (98.45), as well as the top six individuals in each event, advance to the Huntington North regional Friday at 6 p.m.

The Patriots put themselves in excellent position for their fifth sectional title in school history with four uneven bar scores of 8.0 or higher. And after both teams suffered some falls from the balance beam, Jay County held a lead of just over a point at the intermission.

But the advantage slipped away as Huntington North put up a 27.1 on the floor exercise. And, the Vikings only got better, posting the highest team total of the day on any event with a 27.4 on the vault.

"We just don't have an answer for Angie Baker," said Millspaugh of the Huntington North leader who finished first on the vault (9.5) and bars (9.15), second on floor (9.25) and fifth on beam (8.65) for a second-place all-around total of 36.55. "I love the depth we have ... but we just don't have that one big score on each event that they do ... and that was the difference."

Muncie Southside's Brittany Fisher took the all-around crown with a 36.725 total and was also first on the floor (9.45). Marion's Emily Guarneri won the balance beam with a 9.1.

The Patriots' effort on bars, their opening event, had them in position for a shot at the sectional crown. When they scored their previous high of the year - 100.25 at the Olympic Athletic Conference meet at Connersville - they had only two bar scores of 7.0 or higher. But Saturday, everything worked.

Kristin Brown and Lacey Thornburg nailed their release moves, Nadlie Runyon hit her Giant and all four Jay County gymnasts landed their dismounts. The results were a fourth-place 8.35 for Thornburg, a sixth-place 8.1 for Runyon and matching 8.05s for Brown and Erika Hunt.

"I'm not sure we've ever had four bar routines in the eights ... ever," said Millspaugh. "When we scored 108 in the year 2000, I don't think we had a fourth girl in the eights. Depth is great to have. They were good routines, and we hadn't practiced well on bars all week."

Thornburg, a senior, came up big again as she led off the balance beam for the Patriots.

In the event she rarely competed on during her first two seasons before stepping in to fill a void left by graduation in 2005-06, she turned in a second outstanding effort. Even when her foot slipped from the beam as she pushed off for her dismount, she still managed to land strongly to complete a no-fall routine for a sixth-place 8.5.

"She had a great first two events," said Millspaugh of Thornburg, who had never placed at the sectional meet before scoring two top-six finishes Saturday. "It wasn't quite a personal best on bars, but definitely the highest of this season. And then a personal best on the beam with a funny dismount - she missed a foot and still went for her dismount, pulled it around. I almost hated that she had to sit out of floor. ... She had a great first half of the day."

Unfortunately for the Patriots, Thornburg's was the only no-fall routine of the day. Still, Runyon added a fourth-place 8.95 and Kristin Brown scored an 8.1, and after Huntington North followed with several falls as well Jay County had a solid advantage before fading in the final two events.

Runyon added a 9.05 on vault for sixth place, but the Patriots were shut out on the floor while the Vikings took three of the top six spots. Kendra Homan turned in the best score of her career on the vault with an 8.85, and Thornburg added an 8.75 despite a fall on her Tsukahara.

"She has a hard time putting all the parts together at the same time," said Millspaugh of Homan, noting that the junior some sometimes doesn't straighten her arms and sometimes doesn't complete her full twist. "This was a time that she finally put all the pieces together in one vault. ...

"That's the best vault she's done all year and the score showed it. I was really excited for her. We needed that as our lead-off vault score."

Jay County's top three scores on the floor came from Brown (8.6), Runyon (8.55) and Hunt (8.4).

It was a successful first sectional for Runyon, who placed in three out of four events and finished fifth in the all-around at 34.65.

"Nadlie's day goes completely against my whole philosophy for sectionals usually," said Millspaugh. "Normally I'm all about have good, confident, safe routines for sectional - things they're comfortable with. She had something on every single event that wasn't easy for her yet. That's an awful lot of pressure for a freshman.

"I think she knew how important the day was ... and she did a pretty good job for all of the new things she had to do. She does well under pressure. She pulls through when you need her to."[[In-content Ad]]