Columbus North’s Arwyn Tian competes on the bars against Franklin Central Jan. 2 at Columbus North High School.
The Republic file photo
In all his years of having standout top-end gymnasts at Columbus North, coach Bob Arthur has preached to his team about the importance of having good routines from the third and fourth gymnasts on each event.
Those third and fourth competitors made more than a difference on Friday night when the Bull Dogs edged Bloomington North by two-tenths of a point to win the Franklin Central Regional. They could come in handy again on Saturday, when they vie for a spot on the podium at the Gymnastics State Finals.
“They came through,” Arthur said. “Those girls started the ball rolling with some good scores. They just kept us in the hunt. They’ve been working really hard throughout the year to put in some elements that are going to bump those routines up, but the biggest thing I’ve seen in the past couple weeks has been that they’re spending so much more time focused on their execution. They are continuing to make improvements this week. I don’t want to jinx us, but we could set a new (season-high) on the team score if these girls stay as clean as what I’m seeing in practice right now.”
While junior Reese Euler and sophomore Hannah Perry have been the Bull Dogs’ top gymnasts all season, they got plenty of help Friday from the supporting cast of senior Laney Acton, junior Arwyn Tian, sophomore Ellie McIntier and freshman Emerson Chambers.
“I think all of our hard work during practice really paid off,” Acton said. “We paid attention to all the little things, and I think that’s what the meet came down to, so I was proud of how we all did.”
Columbus North’s Laney Acton competes on the bars against Franklin Central Jan. 2 at Columbus North High School.
The Republic file photo
Acton came through with top-15 finishes on the bars, beam, floor and all-around. Chambers placed sixth on the bars.
“I’m glad I got to contribute to the final team score,” Chambers said. “It felt really good to get a (personal record).”
Columbus North’s Emerson Chambers competes on the bars against Columbus East Jan. 8 at Columbus East.
The Republic file photo
Tian just mssed a personal best in finishing seventh on the beam.
“It felt really good when I landed and everyone came over to me,” Tian said. “It felt good to connect all the things I needed to connect.”
Columbus North’s Ellie McIntier competes on the vault against Franklin Central Jan. 2 at Columbus North High School.
The Republic file photo
McIntier also netted a top-10 finish, taking 10th on the vault.
“I think it came down to my second vault, where I just had to land what I’ve been working on to get a higher score,” McIntier said.
Their performances were huge on a night when Euler had a fall on the beam, and Perry was a little off on the bars and beam.
“I think everyone’s mental attitude throughout the season has really improved,” Perry said. “I had a slipup on (the bars and beam), but I came back knowing I could do well on the other two, and I kind of put the other ones behind me.”
Columbus North’s Hannah Perry competes on the vault against Franklin Central Jan. 2, 2024 at Columbus North High School.
The Republic file photo
Perry bounced back to finish fifth on the vault and ninth on the floor to take eighth in the all-around. Euler, who still placed sixth on the beam, won the vault and bars and was second on the floor and finished second in the all-around, just two-tenths of a point out of first.
“I was happy with how bars and floor went,” Euler said. “I worked really hard on bars last week, doing a lot of reps and watching videos and just working on little things. I think that helped with add to my score. I think on floor, I could work on my leaps more, but I think I cleaned up a couple other things, which helped with that score, and then on beam, doing a lot of reps on every skill and knowing I could do all of them.”
Ellie McIntier
While Euler and Acton will be making their third appearances in the state finals, and Perry and McIntier will make their second, this will be the first time competing at state for Tian and Chambers.
Emerson Chambers
“I think all this hard work that we’ve been putting into practice, especially with this being my first one, I’m excited to show off what I’ve been working toward,” Chambers said.
Arwyn Tian
“I’m just excited to compete at state this year because my freshman and sophomore year, I fell short,” Tian added. “I’m just hoping to hit routines.”
The top four of the nine teams earn spots on the medals podium. The Bull Dogs finished fourth last year and are hoping to at least challenge for that fourth spot this year.
Hannah Perry
“That’s pretty much what we’ve worked toward all of the other meets that we’ve had throughout the season,” Perry said. “Putting everything together one last time is a super big thing. It’s Laney’s last meet. It’s a big accomplishment that we can strive toward after all the hard work that we’ve been putting in.”
“I think after regional, we knew that we can score a 107, almost a 108, and I think it’s nice to know that we have a couple routines that we can score even higher with,” Euler added. “So going into state, I think that if we all hit our routines when it matters, we can definitely get back on the podium this year, hopefully. Even if something on one event doesn’t go the best, just picking up on the next event because literally every tenth (of a point) matters, especially at state.”
