July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Second place puts Williams in finals (03/11/06)
JCHS gymnastics
Second place puts Williams in finals (03/11/06)
By By RAY COONEY-
HUNTINGTON — A top three all-around finish for Hannah Williams. Check.
Williams placing in all four events. Check.
The Patriots closing the gap with the Fort Wayne schools. Check.
The Jay County gymnastics team got all of its goals accomplished at the Huntington North regional Friday night, with Williams highlighting the evening with an runner-up, all-around finish.
“We had a really good day,” said JCHS coach Kristin Millspaugh. “Like I said before, it’s always my goal for our sectional teams to close the gap on the Fort Wayne teams. We certainly did that — Huntington and Jay County both.
“We put some more distance between us and Delta. I don’t know, it just seems like we rise to the occasion at this meet.”
Williams not only rose the occasion, but also rose nearly all the way to the top of the leader board. She was the lone gymnast to place in all four events, finishing second all-around with a score of 36.8. Only Olivia Wagoner of Fort Wayne Carroll was better with a 37.15.
Top-ranked Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, the defending state champions, moved on easily with their sixth straight regional title with 111.575 points. Fort Wayne Snider (102.8) edged Huntington North (102.225) for the second state-qualifying spot.
The top two teams and the top six individuals in each event will compete in the state finals at Indianapolis Perry Meridian Saturday, March 13 at 1 p.m.
Carroll (101.775) finished third followed by Jay County (100.6) and Delta (96.575). The Patriots’ score was 0.5 points higher than the sectional meet. Their sectional score was more than four points behind Snider, but they sliced that deficit by more than half at the regional meet.
Williams, who was fifth in the regional all-around last season and placed in just two events, seemed more excited about her team’s success than her own.
“We did good,” she said after shying away from questions about her own success. “It was exciting that we were close to the regional runners-up.”
Williams was consistent across the board, finishing no higher than third and no lower than sixth in every event.
She opened with yet another no-fall balance beam routine. There were just a couple of wobbles, and her back tuck was rock solid en route to a 9.2.
She followed with an excellent floor exercise routine for a fourth-place 9.5. Her piked Tsukahara on the vault was good for a 9.25, which put her in a three-way tie for fourth place with Kristie Koczor of Bishop Dwenger and Angie Baker from Huntington North.
And she added a sixth-place 8.85 on the uneven bars.
Event winners were Juanita Nix (9.75) of Bishop Dwenger on the vault, 2005 all-around state champion Jeanna Van Hoey (9.625) of Bishop Dwenger on bars, Wagoner (9.5) on the beam and Rebecca Trahin (9.775) of Dwenger on the floor.
“It’s wonderful,” said Williams of her runner-up finish. “I thought I did good. Everything was solid.”
Williams’ regional performance followed a week in which she won the all-around, floor, beam and bars titles to give herself 11 sectional championships for her career. She was the state runner-up on the balance beam last season.
“It’s very exciting for Hannah,” said Millspaugh. “I said earlier if she was in the top three all-around, that would be huge success at a meet like this. Second, that’s pretty good, wow. She beat every Dwenger girl all-around, and that’s likely your state champ team. It could be an exciting meet next week.”
The entire Patriot team had an excellent day as the four squads following Dwenger made it a dogfight for a team trip to the state meet. They were all separated by less than a point heading into the final rotation, in which Snider pulled away with a 27.05 team score on the floor.
Junior Lacey Thornburg had the top Patriot finish behind Williams as the team had a much-improved day on the vault. She scored an 8.85 to finish in the three-way tie for 12th. Kendra Homan was 26th at 8.35.
Erika Hunt was 15th on the bars with a 7.8, and Kristin Brown followed in 18th at 7.475. On the beam it was Brown 19th with a 7.7 and Thornburg 20th at 7.65, and on floor Jenny Buckland was 19th with an 8.1 followed by Brown 20th at 7.875.
Millspaugh said one of the big differences on the night was that Williams, Brown and Thornburg each turned in no-fall beam routines.
“That was a biggie,” she said. “That’s a whole point.
“Vault scores were much better, and the vaults were better.
“Normally we peak maybe a week before sectional and then by regional we’re starting to add a few things just for fun. This year I feel we just peaked at this time, coming back from injuries ... Finally things fell back into place today. The girls competed really well.”[[In-content Ad]]
Williams placing in all four events. Check.
The Patriots closing the gap with the Fort Wayne schools. Check.
The Jay County gymnastics team got all of its goals accomplished at the Huntington North regional Friday night, with Williams highlighting the evening with an runner-up, all-around finish.
“We had a really good day,” said JCHS coach Kristin Millspaugh. “Like I said before, it’s always my goal for our sectional teams to close the gap on the Fort Wayne teams. We certainly did that — Huntington and Jay County both.
“We put some more distance between us and Delta. I don’t know, it just seems like we rise to the occasion at this meet.”
Williams not only rose the occasion, but also rose nearly all the way to the top of the leader board. She was the lone gymnast to place in all four events, finishing second all-around with a score of 36.8. Only Olivia Wagoner of Fort Wayne Carroll was better with a 37.15.
Top-ranked Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, the defending state champions, moved on easily with their sixth straight regional title with 111.575 points. Fort Wayne Snider (102.8) edged Huntington North (102.225) for the second state-qualifying spot.
The top two teams and the top six individuals in each event will compete in the state finals at Indianapolis Perry Meridian Saturday, March 13 at 1 p.m.
Carroll (101.775) finished third followed by Jay County (100.6) and Delta (96.575). The Patriots’ score was 0.5 points higher than the sectional meet. Their sectional score was more than four points behind Snider, but they sliced that deficit by more than half at the regional meet.
Williams, who was fifth in the regional all-around last season and placed in just two events, seemed more excited about her team’s success than her own.
“We did good,” she said after shying away from questions about her own success. “It was exciting that we were close to the regional runners-up.”
Williams was consistent across the board, finishing no higher than third and no lower than sixth in every event.
She opened with yet another no-fall balance beam routine. There were just a couple of wobbles, and her back tuck was rock solid en route to a 9.2.
She followed with an excellent floor exercise routine for a fourth-place 9.5. Her piked Tsukahara on the vault was good for a 9.25, which put her in a three-way tie for fourth place with Kristie Koczor of Bishop Dwenger and Angie Baker from Huntington North.
And she added a sixth-place 8.85 on the uneven bars.
Event winners were Juanita Nix (9.75) of Bishop Dwenger on the vault, 2005 all-around state champion Jeanna Van Hoey (9.625) of Bishop Dwenger on bars, Wagoner (9.5) on the beam and Rebecca Trahin (9.775) of Dwenger on the floor.
“It’s wonderful,” said Williams of her runner-up finish. “I thought I did good. Everything was solid.”
Williams’ regional performance followed a week in which she won the all-around, floor, beam and bars titles to give herself 11 sectional championships for her career. She was the state runner-up on the balance beam last season.
“It’s very exciting for Hannah,” said Millspaugh. “I said earlier if she was in the top three all-around, that would be huge success at a meet like this. Second, that’s pretty good, wow. She beat every Dwenger girl all-around, and that’s likely your state champ team. It could be an exciting meet next week.”
The entire Patriot team had an excellent day as the four squads following Dwenger made it a dogfight for a team trip to the state meet. They were all separated by less than a point heading into the final rotation, in which Snider pulled away with a 27.05 team score on the floor.
Junior Lacey Thornburg had the top Patriot finish behind Williams as the team had a much-improved day on the vault. She scored an 8.85 to finish in the three-way tie for 12th. Kendra Homan was 26th at 8.35.
Erika Hunt was 15th on the bars with a 7.8, and Kristin Brown followed in 18th at 7.475. On the beam it was Brown 19th with a 7.7 and Thornburg 20th at 7.65, and on floor Jenny Buckland was 19th with an 8.1 followed by Brown 20th at 7.875.
Millspaugh said one of the big differences on the night was that Williams, Brown and Thornburg each turned in no-fall beam routines.
“That was a biggie,” she said. “That’s a whole point.
“Vault scores were much better, and the vaults were better.
“Normally we peak maybe a week before sectional and then by regional we’re starting to add a few things just for fun. This year I feel we just peaked at this time, coming back from injuries ... Finally things fell back into place today. The girls competed really well.”[[In-content Ad]]
Top Stories
9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit
Chartwells marketing
September 17, 2024 7:36 a.m.
Events
250 X 250 AD