Mike Wolanin | The Republic Members of the Columbus North gymnastics team line up to claim their medals after taking fourth place in the IHSAA Gymnastics State Finals at Worthern Arena on the Ball State Campus in Muncie, Ind., Saturday, March 9, 2024.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
MUNCIE — After a rocky start on the balance beam at Saturday’s Gymnastics State Finals, Columbus North coach Bob Arthur took a small rubber super ball out of his pocket and bounced it off the floor.
“This is how we’re going to bounce back,” Arthur told his team. “Just like this ball.”
The Bull Dogs took Arthur’s action to heart and bounced back in a big way. In eighth place after that first rotation, they rallied to land on the medals podium with a fourth-place finish for the second consecutive year.
“I was pleased with how the girls bounced back,” Arthur said. “In fact, I have this little ball in my pocket, and I said, ‘That’s what we need to do, bounce back after beam,’ and they did a good job. They hit pretty well on floor and were 3 for 4 on vault and 4 for 4 on bars.”
Columbus North finished with a 107.825 team total, its highest score of the season. But landing the fourth and final podium spot didn’t come without a little controversy. Bloomington North originally had a 108.6, but had a point deducted because one of its gymnasts used an electronic device while on the floor area, which is against the rules.
Crown Point won with a 113.15.
Bull Dogs junior Reese Euler finished her season with a bang, finishing no lower than fourth on any event. She placed third on the vault (9.575) and floor (9.425) and fourth on the beam (9.525) and tied for fourth on the bars (9.575) on her way to a third-place all-around finish with a season-best 38.1.
“She hit every single routine she did,” Arthur added.
“I was happy because I hit 4 for 4 and had my highest all-around score this season, which was nice,” Euler said. “And to get third in the all-around instead of fourth like last year was good.”
Sophomore Hannah Perry tied for ninth on the floor (9.175), tied for 15th on the vault (9.3), tied for 23rd on the bars (8.725) and took 28th on the beam (8.425) en route to a 19th-place finish in the all-around with a 35.625.
“I think starting on beam was sort of a good thing for me because it is my weakest, and then coming back stronger on the other three was good,” Perry said. “My mentality was good. I kind of shook it off like I did at regional.”
“Hannah had a good day,” Arthur added. “Hannah has been dealing with fighting some injuries for the last month, and I just think she worked to about the maximum of her capacity under the situation with her injuries.”
Also for North, sophomore Ellie McIniter tied for 28th on the vault (9.025) and finished 35th on the bars (8.3). Freshman Emerson Chambers finished 25th on the bars (8.675), 40th on the floor (8.55) and 42nd on the vault (8.55).
Senior Laney Acton tied for 42nd on the floor (8.325) and finished 43rd on the beam (7.15). Junior Arwyn Tian finished 39th on the beam (7.85).
After opening with a 25.8 on the beam, the Bull Dogs scored a 26.925 on the floor, 27.9 on the vault and 26.925 on the bars.
“I was kind of hoping with beam being the first event, we might get that out of the way, and hopefully stay on,” Arthur said. “That one event will make or break a team every single time.”
But like that rubber ball, they bounced back.
“I’m really happy with how our team did today, especially after starting on beam, which can be hard to start off on,” Euler said. “I think we did great after beam, just picking up on each event and continuing to have a good mindset on the other events.”
