Columbus North’s Hannah Perry breaks out a big smile during her floor routine at the Franklin Central Sectional Feb. 28 at The Gymnastics Company.
Rob Baker | For The Republic
With 19 consecutive Gymnastics State Finals appearances, Columbus North has a chance to tie Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger for the all-time state record of 20 if it can make it back to Muncie in March.
Coach Bob Arthur is hoping that will be an incentive for the Bull Dogs to have another big season.
“That’s a little fuel to fire the girls up this year, to make a repeat appearance for the record,” Arthur said.
North has landed on the podium with fourth-place state finishes the past two years. The Bull Dogs lost three-time Republic Gymnast of the Year Reese Euler to graduation, but return three others who competed at state last season.
“They’re coming along pretty well,” Arthur said. “I think we’re going to be strong again this year with who we have coming back and the work they’ve been putting in to bring up their difficulty level. Execution, we have some work to do, but as far as having the skills for tournament performances, we’re in good shape.”
Sophomore Hayden Harper was North’s No. 2 gymnast last year. Senior Hannah Perry has been a varsity mainstay since her freshman year.
“Hayden and Hannah are very close in skill level,” Arthur said. “Hannah has stepped up. She was injured last season. She did come back and compete for us, but it was restricted. She’s really shot up on her skill level this year.”
Senior Ellie McIntier competed on the vault and bars, and sophomore Peyton Hewitt did the beam in last year’s tournament series. Senior Evey Richards and sophomore Addy Gill also return from last season.
The Bull Dogs will have six newcomers in sophomore Quinn Carr and freshmen Karlie Haston, Kyla McGee, Elsa Murray, Kaori Takahashi and Meghan Young.
“I think that Hayden and Hannah are going to fill in where Reese left off and pull some scores in there,” Arthur said. “Between Peyton and Ellie, and I look for Karlie to be somewhat of an impact performer out of our freshman class, I think our depth will be good. I look for us to have very similar scoring to what we did last year.”
North will open the season Jan. 7 at home against Franklin Central and will visit Columbus East Jan. 12.
The goal once again for the Bull Dogs will be to get back to state and return to the podium with a top-four finish.
“Provided that we keep everybody healthy, I think we have a pretty clear path,” Arthur said. “We’re going to have to stay focused and stay sharp because the northern schools are going to be as strong as ever.”
