Harrison gymnasts take lessons learned from sectional setback into regional
LAFAYETTE — Micah Wright mixed emotions could be read as the final team scores were announced.
Wright repeated as the all-around sectional champion, staying undefeated as a senior.
But the Harrison Raiders fell four-tenths of a point shy of a fifth straight gymnastics sectional title.
"Now we have a chance to see what we really need to improve on," Wright said. "All the pressure is off next week. We can focus as a team, go in and get it done."
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The good news for Harrison is it is one of three qualifying teams out of the Lafayette Jeff Sectional to compete in next Saturday's Valparaiso Regional, along with sectional champion Northwestern and third-place Westfield.
"Sometimes a little bit of failure is what pushes you to be more successful the next time," Harrison coach Judie Malone said. "There's definitely some things we could've saved some tenths on each event. That doesn't fall on one person. It's a team collectively and we've got to work on being more consistent on our beam routines, tightening up our floor jumps and landings on vault."
Wright added an individual vault title to her all-around sectional crown, highlighting Harrison's runner-up finish. Raider classmate Sophie Ball placed fifth in all-around.
Qualifying for the regional individually are: Lafayette Jeff's Katie Graves (floor), West Lafayette's Audrey Bittle (vault and beam) and McCutcheon's Emma Spear (vault).
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.
Team scores
Northwestern 104.45, Harrison 104.05, Westfield 99.425, Lafayette Jeff 98.775, Logansport 92.375, Western 91.75, North Montgomery 87.10, Southmont 80.50, West Lafayette 66.375, McCutcheon 63.05, Guerin Catholic 62.075, Faith Christian 55.125, Crawfordsville 54.125, Kokomo 34.925, Benton Central 32.20, North Putnam 30.575, Caston 29.325
Individual events
Floor − 1. Taylor Schmitt (Northwestern) 9.425, 2. Katie Graves (Lafayette Jeff) 9.35; 3. Micah Wright (Harrison) 9.325, 4. Karsyn Schoolman (Northwestern) 9.25; 4. Lyrric Barnett (Guerin Catholic) 9.25; 6. Elianna Reynolds (Westfield) 9.10
Vault − 1. Wright (Harrison) 9.30; 2. Audrey Biddle (West Lafayette) 9.05; 3. Barnett (Guerin Catholic) 8.775; 4. Schoolman (Northwestern) 8.775; 5. Emma Spear (McCutcheon) 8.725; 6. Reynolds (Westfield) 8.70; 6. Madie Doran (Westfield) 8.70
Bars − 1. Megan Leavitt (Kokomo) 8.575; 2. Wright (Harrison) 8.55; 3. Schmitt (Northwestern) 8.35; 4. Sophie Ball (Harrison) 8.30; 5. Rylee Zimmerman (Logansport) 8.20; 6. Reynolds (Westfield) 8.125
Beam − 1. Schmitt (Northwestern) 9.425; 2. Leavitt (Kokomo) 9.15; 3. Wright (Harrison) 9.10; 4. Zimmerman (Logansport) 9.025; 5. Biddle (West Lafayette) 9.00; 6. Emma Baker (Northwestern) 8.825
All-around − 1. Wright (Harrison) 36.275; 2. Schmitt (Northwestern) 35.45; 3. Leavitt (Kokomo) 34.925; 4. Schoolman (Northwestern) 34.80; 5. Ball (Harrison) 34.675; 5. Reynolds (Westfield) 34.675
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Harrison gymnasts take lessons from sectional setback into regional
