Cami Warren
All the Columbus East gymnasts needed to pick up their first win of the season was to get everyone healthy.
The Olympians were at full strength for the first time since early in the season Monday night. They cracked the century mark for the first time this year in a 101.95 to 97.3 win against Owen Valley.
“We talked about team goals, and the girls set a goal, and they exceeded it tonight,” East co-coach Katie Menefee said. “So I think that’s going to be helpful for them. We had a lot of (personal records) tonight.”
One of the gymnasts who returned to the lineup was junior Cami Warren. Warren, who had missed the previous meet with an injured elbow, won the all-around competition with a 34.6, edging senior teammate Reagan Mount’s 34.55.
Reagan Mount
“We’ve been mostly competing against ourselves, and we went into this one thinking we had a chance,” Mount said. “So we just tried to have as much fun as we could and didn’t put too much pressure on ourselves. I think it helps us a lot because we’ve been kind of struggling with past meets, and I think we all did our routines really good today. So we’re getting much more comfortable with them and performing them, so that’s really good.”
Warren scored personal-bests of 9.1 in winning the floor and finishing third on the beam. She also placed third on the bars (7.8) and tied for fourth on the vault (8.6).
Mount won the beam (9.2). She also finished second on the bars (8.4) and tied with Warren for fourth on the vault (8.6).
“I’m pretty proud of myself,” Mount said. “I’ve been trying to get some newer skills in before sectional comes around, so I had a new series on beam, a new vault and a new pass on floor.”
Winter Shaver, who returned from an injured hamstring, finished third on the floor with an 8.55 for the Olympians. Shaver took fifth in the all-around with a 32.55, and Carlie Menefee was ninth in the all-around with a 31.2.
“We made adjustments, and we put in some new things tonight and we were pleased with how they did,” Katie Menefee said. “We had everyone pick up, and it did help to have those two kids back into our lineup.”
East now has a little bit of momentum going into Monday’s regular-season finale against 10th-ranked Columbus North and the March 5 East Sectional.
“I think we mostly just need to stay calm,” Warren said. “This year, our main goal has just been having fun, and I think we’ve been doing pretty good with that, but today was our best. I think it boosts our confidence a little bit. Like Reagan said, we’ve had a little bit of trouble with feeling confident this year and trying to have fun. But today, we had fun and we boosted our confidence a little bit. I think we’re ready.”
