MUNCIE – When Ashley Holliday scored a 9.6 on the bars midway through Saturday’s Gymnastics State Finals, she put herself on top of all scorers in that event.
But the Columbus North sophomore couldn’t start thinking of a state title. She still had a beam routine to perform, and there were 19 more competitors left on the bars.
As it turned out, no one ended up catching Holliday, who took home the gold medal on the bars.
“I was hopeful,” Holliday said. “I wasn’t totally sure because there’s some really good competition out here.”
Holliday finished eighth in the all-around competition with a 37.5 to lead the Bull Dogs to a third-place all-around finish. Valparaiso defended its team title with a 113.1, followed by Fort Wayne’s Bishop Dwenger (110.925) and North (110.1).
Her coaches also were pleased.
“That was definitely a high point,” North co-coach Sandy Freshour said. “As a freshman last year, it was a really tough meet, and then she rebounds and has a fantastic sophomore performance today. She did super well.”
Last year, Holliday was the state runnerup on the bars as a freshman.
“She has always been a consistent bar worker,” North co-coach Bob Arthur said. “You never know in a meet like this. There’s so much talent out here. We knew she had the guns because she got second place last year, and to cap it off this year with a first place is fantastic.”
