Columbus East gymnastics coach Nancy Kirshman could tell her gymnasts were not focused during warmups of Tuesday’s meet against Franklin Central, and she said it showed, even though the Olympians defeated the Flashes 107.4 to 97.4.
“We went down two points from the opening night,” Kirshman said. “Not a good focus, not a good balance beam, not a good floor exercise. I’m disappointed.”
The Olympians still captured the top three places in three of the four events and took the top two spots in the balance beam despite having multiple falls from their gymnasts.
The Olympians’ Adi Minor won the vault (9.75), uneven bars (9.8), balance beam (9.25) and the floor exercise (9.1) to win the all-around competition with a 37.9 score.
East’s Taylor Lane placed second in the all-around with a 35.45 score. She placed second in the vault (8.9), uneven bars (8.8), balance beam (8.7) and floor exercise (9.05).
Abby Lewis’ 34.0 score gave her third place in the all-around competition after tying for third in the vault (8.6), placing third in the floor exercise (8.75) and fourth in the uneven bars (8.65).
Amelia Schroeder earned fourth place for the Flashes in the all-around with a 33.45 score.
“We came out really really strong, and then the beam was a little shaky,” Minor said. “We had falls from everybody, but we’re getting all of that out of the way early in the season. Floor (exercise), we tried to shake it off, and for the most part everyone did.”
The Olympians may not have performed their best, but it was enough to get the job done. Kirshman said they will have to perform with better focus when they compete against Columbus North on Monday if they want to win.
“You can’t just not focus just because it’s during vacation time,” Kirshman said. “This group has their sights on getting to the state finals, placing on the podium, and that won’t cut it.”
