Ready for regional

There won’t be much in the way of nerves for Lizzy Schoenlein on Friday.
She competed at the regional gymnastics meet last year as a freshman.
But this time will be different.
She’ll be by herself, without her teammates.
“Being alone is kind of a bummer,” said Schoenlein, a Jay County High School sophomore who will be chasing a state berth when the regional meet begins at 6 p.m. Friday at Huntington North. “I know some of the girls will come up and watch, so they’ll be there to support me.”
Schoenlein, who placed sixth in the all-around at Saturday’s sectional meet with a career-best 35.975 points, will be seeded seventh at regional. Taylor Ross of Homestead, the No. 6 seed, is 0.325 points ahead of her. Bishop Dwenger’s Maria Trahin is the top seed with a 37.4.
And to get to state — the top six in each event advance to the finals at Worthen Arena on the campus of Ball State — she’s been working on nailing her routines that got her to regional.
“On floor, I just need to perfect it,” she said. She scored a 9.35 at sectional to finish fourth, which is also her seed going into regional. “My personal best is a 9.525. I know I can do that again, I just have to do everything the best I can.”
Trahin’s 9.525 is the top seed based on sectional scores.
“This week we have been really focusing on tricks and perfecting routines,” first-year coach Lana Kahlig said. “We’re not running through them a whole bunch, but we’re actually focusing on specific items.
“Her dismount on (uneven) bars, we’re working on a harder dismount so we can get some more points.”
Schoenlein is hoping those bonus points can help boost her score. She scored an 8.85 at sectional to finish tied for ninth, and she will be the 11th seed for regional. Kristin Russell of DeKalb is the top seed with a 9.4, and E’Lycia Early (9.2) of Concordia is seeded sixth.

Turning in a no-fall routine on the balance beam is what the sophomore feels can help her out the most.
She’s been able to hit her aerial with consistency, but a misstep on the landing of a wolf jump caused her to fall during the sectional meet. After the fall, however, she changed the rest of her routine on the fly, adding more jumps to make up for the half-point penalty. She finished with an 8.925 and placed sixth.
Reagan Atwood of Wawasee is the sixth seed with a 9.2, and Schoenlein, who is 12th heading into regional, is certain that if she can stay on she can crack the top six. Delaney Garland of Carroll owns the top seed with a score of 9.4.
On vault, Schoenlein’s 8.85 has her seeded 13th although she finished 18th at sectional. Again, Trahin is the No. 1 seed with a 9.675, and Ross’ 9.275 is sixth.
“I’m pretty confident on everything,” Schoenlein said of how she stacks up against the competition.
Kahlig shares Schoenlein’s confidence, in addition to a wide array of other feelings.
“I am a mixed bag of emotions this week,” said Kahlig. “I’ve been happy, sad, stressed out, nervous, excited — basically anything I can ask for. It’s exciting to be going on, especially with LIzzy. She’s a great gymnast, a hard worker and I couldn’t have asked for anyone better.
“She does have the potential (to make state). If she gets her personal best on every event she will definitely be moving on.”