Patriots top two (01/12/07)

HARTFORD CITY - Thursday was anything but typical for the Jay County gymnastics team.

They were on the road, dealing with unfamiliar equipment and a nagging injury to senior Kristin Brown forced a couple of substitutions after warm-ups. Then senior Lacey Thornburg suffered an ankle injury on the vault, forcing more changes to the lineup.

But the Patriots still won every event and took the team competition with a total of 93.925 points. The Marion Giants were second with 89.775 points, and the host Blackford Bruins scored 72.15.

"We had a pretty rough night," said JCHS coach Kristin Millspaugh, whose team is in the midst of a run of five meets in 10 days. "I just think we've had so many meets lately we haven't had a whole lot of practice time in between. ... They're doing full routines and then they sit, and they're stiff and we're starting to get a lot of the mid-season nagging ... aches and pains.

"It's hard to go away sometimes when the equipment isn't what you're used to, and this was one of those meets. We just weren't on."

Despite the struggles and the loss of two seniors for a portion of the meet, Jay County still improved to 4-1.

Thornburg gave the Patriots one of their victories before suffering her injury, winning the opening event of the night with a 7.55 on the uneven bars.

She injured her left ankle when landing her final attempt of a Tsukahara on the vault. She suffered a broken foot in a similar incident during her freshman season.

Nadlie Runyon led the depleted Patriot lineup with a pair of wins. She showed off on the balance beam, turning in the only no-fall routine of the evening for the team for a win by more than a full point at 8.975. Marion's Emily Guarneri was second at 7.9.

"That would be the highlight," said Millspaugh of the freshman, who also had the top all-around score of 32.75. "She was pretty solid - no falls and not really any wobbles.

"That's how she practices. Sometimes she's way off, but sometimes she's really on. So it never surprises me when she does a routine like that."

Runyon also finished first on the floor exercise, where she shared the top spot with Guarneri as both scored 8.4.

The Patriots actually walked away with five first-place ribbons for four events as a pair of them tied for first place on the vault. Erika Hunt and Kendra Homan each scored 8.35 to finish just ahead of Angela Lada (8.3) of Marion.

"Kendra vaulted better than she has all season," said Millspaugh. "Her handspring full looked like it did last year around regional time and it hadn't yet this year, so that stands out as a positive."

Hunt stumbled on her dismount, but still finished second on the bars with a 7.325. Brown added a third-place finish in one of the two events she competed in, scoring a 7.2 on the beam.

Sophomore Jenny Buckland continued to work back from a pre-season ankle injury and posted an 8.0 on the floor for third place.

"Jenny's coming back on floor with the endurance," said Millspaugh. "I thought tonight's routine looked a lot easier for her to get through. ... I feel like Jenny is on her way back."

Even with her injury, Thornburg tied for fourth on the vault with an 8.2. Runyon was fourth on the bars at 7.225, and Kayci Ryder posted a fourth-place finish with a 7.75 on the floor.

Jay County also got a step-up performance from freshman Lexie Rowles, one of the Patriots who had to fill in for Thornburg and Brown. She competed at the varsity level in all four events for the first time, scoring a 27.075 all-around with a top score of 7.75 on the vault.

"That was the first time she'd (competed) floor," said Millspaugh. "She did a nice job. At least one of those events she wasn't supposed to do.

"We had girls filling in. ... Those girls stepped in and did routines they didn't expect to have to do."[[In-content Ad]]