The Columbus North gymnasts didn’t put up the scores they did in their first two meets of the season, but that didn’t stop the Bull Dogs from collecting their third consecutive win Tuesday night.
North scored a 107.25 to easily outdistance Owen Valley. The Patriots finished with a 101.45.
“Some of the routines were better, and the score maybe didn’t reflect it,” North co-coach Bob Arthur said. “We weren’t as sharp as we were against East or even Bloomington North. We have some work to do.”
The Bull Dogs claimed the top three places in the all-around competition. Claire Thompson won with a 37.025, followed by Ashley Holliday (35.75) and Sami Heathcote (34.475).
Thompson, the defending state champion in the bars, beam and all-around, put up high scores in winning the bars (9.55) and beam (9.5). She also finished second on the vault (9.15) and third on the floor (8.825).
Holliday opened the meet by winning the vault with a 9.3. She took second on the bars (9.2), tied for third on the beam (8.5) and was fourth on the floor (8.75).
“It’s still the beginning of the season,” Holliday said. “For every mistake we had tonight, there was another success. We’re still trying to get better every time. Sometimes, we just don’t hit all together, and that’s the tough part.”
Heathcote won the floor with an 8.975 to cap the meet. She also tied for third on both the vault (8.75) and beam (8.5) and was sixth on the bars (8.25).
North’s Alayne Davis tied for third on the vault with an 8.75.
“Whenever you get another set of judges in, you’re going to see some fluctuation,” Arthur said. “Two of the judges are state-level judges, and you’re going to have to work to get a good score out of them.”
The Bull Dogs overcame four falls — two on the beam and two on the floor.
“We have so much talent, and I feel like we’re putting a lot of pressure on ourselves right now,” Thompson said. “It’s not helping our confidence, which is making us nervous. We just have to know that we’re a team, and we have each others’ backs to get through each meet, no matter what happens.”
