Reaching for state (03/07/08)

The Patriots were the best team at the Muncie Central sectional. Now they'll have to deal with three of the best teams in the state.

The trip to the regional meet always represents a mammoth step in level of competition, and 2008 is no different. Jay County High School's gymnastics team, making its sixth consecutive appearance, will be up against No. 3 Bishop Dwenger, No. 7 Concordia and No. 11 Snider at the meet tonight at Huntington North at 6 p.m.

The Patriots, who will also be joined by second- and third-place finishers Huntington North and Marion from their Muncie Central sectional, are a long shot to have any chance at a state berth.

The top two teams will advance, and Bishop Dwenger is almost a lock after scoring 109.475 at the sectional. Concordia and Snider tied at 105.45 for second place in the sectional, which was nearly four full points better than JCHS.

"Gymnastics is a sport where you can see what everybody else has been doing and know that a few tenths is something you can make up in a week, four or five points really isn't," said Jay County coach Kristin Millspaugh, whose team knows what it is up against having already competed against No. 1 Valparaiso, No. 7 New Castle, No. 10 Hagerstown and No. 12 Carroll this season. "But it's always our goal to become more and more competitive with the Fort Wayne schools.

"And after winning sectional, it's our goal to maintain that spot amongst our sectional teams. We won when it was most important on the day of sectional, but it would be a little bit of a downer if we ... got beat by those two teams at the regional."

But while a team state berth is probably out of reach, there is always the possibility for an individual to advance. The top six gymnasts in each event, and the all-around, move on to the state finals.

By comparing sectional scores, freshman Kristen Ainsworth is in the best position for a chance at state competition. Her score of 9.0 on the balance beam, which was good for third at Muncie Central, has her ranked sixth in the regional in the event.

Millspaugh said the routine she performed at sectional has a start value of just 9.6 and might not score as high at the regional meet. So Ainsworth has been working on adding two bonus jumps to her routine in an effort to get those few extra tenths that could possibly put her over the top.

"We'll know that she's taking a couple of big risks, but we know without those there's probably not a chance," said Millspaugh. "So we'll go for it and see what happens.

"I think if she does the new routing pretty close to perfect then she has a chance."

Erika Hunt, a senior, is the Patriots' top seed on every other event, including seventh on the bars after scoring a career-high 8.8 at the sectional meet. She has also been working on her floor exercise routine, where she ranks 10th after a career-best 9.35 at the sectional.

She is also seeded 10th in the all-around and 18th on the vault.

"I can't really think about it because I've never been that far. I've never placed at regional. I don't think I've even been close to placing at regional," said Hunt, whose top effort at the 2007 regional was 17th in the all-around. "It'd be awesome, but if it ends here, then I'm happy with the season."

Jennifer Buckland also has an outside chance on the balance beam. The junior scored an 8.05 at the sectional, but has 9.0-potential if she can turn in a no-fall performance.

Two other seniors - Kayci Ryder and Kendra Homan - will join Hunt in making their final regional appearance as they each compete on one event. Ryder scored a 7.5 on the floor at last season's regional, but Homan (vault) missed the meet because she had an appendectomy earlier in the day.

It will be a new experience for freshmen Ainsworth and Kyli Kelso, who did not compete in the sectional after suffering a fall during balance beam warm-ups. It will be the second regional competition for sophomore Lexie Rowles, who stepped in for Homan last season on the vault, and first for sophomore Stormi Metcalf on the bars.

"We look at it as a fun meet," said Millspaugh. "We get to see a lot of really talented gymnasts. I'd like to have them feel good about their routines.

"I hope (the younger girls) see what's going on up there and know that those are things that they could be doing in the next few years. I hope they're focused on their own routines and doing the best they can do, but also able to see ... not just the level of difficulty, but also the way the difficulty is performed."

Jay County has shown a huge amount of improvement this season after opening with a team total of 89.95 against Heritage in mid-December. The team cleared 100 for the first time against Delta in their final meet of the regular season, and then racked up 101.55 points to fight off Huntington North and Marion for the sectional crown.

"It's been a very successful year. At the start of the season, I don't know how many people expected us to be (where we are)," said Millspaugh. "I'm just proud of the progress they've made and the work they're put into it."[[In-content Ad]]