Stevens overcomes injury for home finale (02/28/06)

“Winning isn’t everything.”

That phrase is repeated frequently, but how often people actually mean it is another story. Usually winning is “the only thing.”

But Monday night, the scores truly did not matter.

Jay County’s gymnastics team knew it was going to win big, and did, by more than 25 points — 101.95-74.7.

What mattered most, however, were the final performances on the uneven parallel bars and floor exercise. They showed the triumph of competitive spirit over crushing injury.

Patriot senior Heather Stevens made her return, just a month-and-a-half after surgery to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee.

“I don’t think we expected her to be back right from the beginning, just from what the doctors were saying right after her surgery ...,” said JCHS coach Kristin Millspaugh. “But then once she started therapy she just seemed to be ahead, which didn’t surprise me.

“... we knew all along that she would get back to whatever level she could and be happy with that ... I think that just shows how important it is for her to be a part of the team, no matter what role she has.

“It was neat for the other girls to get to see her perform. She’s done so much to help them throughout the season, to get to see her go out there and perform for herself was a really nice way to end Senior Night.”

Since injuring her knee on her dismount from the bars in the first event of the opening meet of the season at Heritage Dec. 14, Stevens had become a coach for the remainder of the squad. But days before her surgery she said she wanted to return for the team’s final home meet, even if all she could do was a cartwheel.

And she did much more than that.

Stevens stayed on the low bar throughout her routine, doing a variety of spins around the bar. Her 6.05 score was actually higher than the total she got on the Heritage routine, and was better than all but one score from the Bluffton squad.

She went on to compete a full floor routine to finish the night, scoring a 5.5.

“I was excited ... I wish I was fully back, but that was good enough,” said Stevens, who was also presented with a special “good spirit” ribbon after the meet. “From what the doctor said, I didn’t (expect to be back). The surgeon said it would be four to six months before he would release me.

“This year was a lot of fun. I know I didn’t get to compete, but coaching was fun.”

Stevens’ comeback was the highlight of a very good meet for Jay County to close the regular season as the team posted its highest score of the year, topping the 101.45 from the Olympic Athletic Conference meet.

Key to the high score were efforts on vault and balance beam, where decisions about what four team members will compete at Saturday’s sectional became slightly more difficult.

The Patriots turned in four no-fall beam routines, with Jenny Buckland putting together the first of her career to finish second. She posted an 8.35 while Hannah Williams won with a 9.1.

Lacey Thornburg, third with an 8.3, and Kristin Brown also had no-fall routines.

Kendra Homan broke through on the vault with by far the best score of her career. She performed a handspring full for a third-place 8.65. Her previous high score was a 7.9.

Williams won the vault with her piked Tsukahara for a 9.25, and Thornburg was second with an 8.7.

“I was really hopeful for a 102,” said Millspaugh. “So to be so close is a little disappointing, but it was still the best score of the season. Vault and beam were wonderful.”

The Patriots swept all four events, with Williams taking first in each. She won the bars with a 9.05 and the floor with an 8.9 for an all-around score of 36.3.

Thornburg was second on the bars with an 8.05, and Kristin Brown took second on the bars with an 8.25. Erika Hunt was third on both events with a 7.95 on the floor and a 7.4 on the bars.

Jay County heads into the sectional — at Muncie Central Saturday at 11 a.m. — hoping to claim its third championship in four seasons. It won in 2003 and 2004 before finishing second to Delta last year.

Delta has battled injuries this season, but is still expected to be among the top teams. Huntington North has posted slightly higher scores than Jay County all season.

“I think we have a good chance to win, but I think Huntington is definitely the biggest threat and probably the favorite,” said Millspaugh. “They don’t have one big star, but they have three really solid routines on each event.

“We need to start out as strong as we can. We need to start off as strong as we can. Floor and vault can be fairly high scoring events for us.”[[In-content Ad]]