SYRACUSE – It wasn’t the prettiest day of gymnastics in the history of the Wawasee Gymnastics Sectional, but for a trio of teams and a host of individuals, Saturday was a day of triumph.

In a competition that seemed to lack buzz among individual performances, a team race that didn’t seem to materialize until very late in the afternoon, and several star performers falling off equipment all day, the gymnastics as a whole were not what it has been in recent years for a sectional tournament. But, one star did rise above the rest, and for DeKalb, coach Jenny Gibson and her Baron team hoisted the championship trophy high with a well-deserved overall performance.

DeKalb was the clear-cut team to beat as Saturday progressed, backing it up with a 103.725 final score that bested a trio of teams vying for the final two spots. When the scores were all tabulated, Lakeland landed in second at 100.9 and Elkhart Central third with 100.85 points. Plymouth, which was thought to be a favorite coming in to win the entire sectional, faltered in spots and fell to fourth at 100.575 and out of the final advancing spot to Friday’s Huntington North Regional.

Wawasee was fifth with 97.4 points and Warsaw placed eighth at 87.775 points in the nine-team field.

Of the talent pool, there was really just one superstar performer, and one who is not new to the spotlight in Angola’s Alex Nickel. The spark plug senior was money all day long, taking first on everything. Nickel posted scores of 9.5 on vault, 9.65 on bars, 9.3 on beam and 9.7 on floor to compile a 38.15 all-around tally, nearly two points better than runner-up Cassi Quissell of Plymouth’s 36.375. Quissell had a tremendous day herself, taking runner-up honors on bars (8.9), beam (8.975) and floor (9.5). Hamilton individual Alex Cool, among the favorites to contend for individual titles, had a rough day with a pair of falls on bars and several wobbles on floor and beam, but still posted a 35.35 and one of the advancing placings in all-around.

DeKalb’s team compilations of 27.15 on vault and 24.25 on bars led the sectional in building it’s second-ever sectional title, adding a trophy to the one earned in 2012.

“This really was a special day for the girls, we’ve worked very hard to get to this point,” said a very emotional coach Gibson, who was especially proud of twin daughters Hayley and Ryley, both podium winners Saturday. “The scoring here was very tough, and we’ve been battling injuries all season. It’s just very humbling and satisfying to see this team holding that trophy. I’m very excited for them.”

For host Wawasee, it was not able to break the titleless streak dating back to 2004 despite still holding the state record for gymnastics sectional titles won in program history with 23.

The Lady Warriors were close to sending a pair of athletes into the regional round. Taylor Busse, hobbled by a pair of sore ankles suffered earlier in the season, just missed qualifying in her one event, the bars. Busse tied Cool with an 8.15, a half-point behind DeKalb’s duo of Ryley Gibson and Caitlin Marlow at 8.2, who shared the final two qualifying spots in the event.

Emily Allen also hovered near the cut line but couldn’t quite get through to regionals in her final try as a senior. Her 8.5 beam score tied Plymouth’s Nicole Davis for eighth, but her remaining three scores were all 11th or lower. Despite executing her final vault – a tsuk – cleanly for the first time in scoring competition, Allen was given just an 8.75 and 13th place. Allen also had scores of 7.95 on bars and 8.6 on floor, taking 11th and 14th places, respectively. Allen completed her gymnastics career in 10th place overall in all-around at 33.8.

“I was looking at the scoresheets trying to see if there was anywhere I could inquire about a tenth or two that we could add to Emily’s score, but the judges were right on,” Wawasee head coach Nika Prather said. “There was nothing I could inquire about. It was cut and dried. It was just a matter of not being able to stick a couple things. But she fought today. She went all-out, and she knew it was her last hurrah and went for it.”

Click here to see a video of Allen’s floor performance at the Wawasee Gymnastics Sectional.

Molly Smith was the other Wawasee gymnast to compete in all-around, taking 17th at 32.525, her best showing a 10th place, 8.0 score on bars.

The team scoring was right about where Prather figured her team would end up, and wasn’t upset with how her team’s season concluded.

“I wanted at least a 98, even if we weren’t going to move on, to try to get the highest score we had this season,” Prather said, whose team missed the goal by .25. “When you start on floor, and its our showcase and there is no base score to go from, it’s very hard. I don’t wish it on anybody to start on floor. But that’s what we were given and the luck of the draw. It just wasn’t our day today.”

Warsaw had just five gymnasts active at the sectional, and only three competed in more than one event. Shannon Winslow scored a 7.75 on bars for 15th in her best output while Molly Borchers posted a 7.65 on bars to land one spot behind Winslow and was 15th overall on beam at 7.925, which was a no-fall routine for the senior.

“I think a lot of people today were just psyched out knowing it’s the end of the season and there is a lot of pressure,” stated Warsaw head coach Megan Kammerer. “There were a lot of nerves today. Molly worked very hard this year and got what she deserved on the beam today with that no-fall. That was a great way to go out.”

The top six individuals from each event and all-around along with DeKalb, Lakeland and Elkhart Central’s teams advance to Friday’s Huntington North Gymnastics Regional. Wawasee and Fort Wayne Concordia’s sectional advancers feed into Huntington.

2014 Wawasee Gymnastics Sectional Team Scores
1. DeKalb 103.725
2. Lakeland 100.90
3. Elkhart Central 100.85
4. Plymouth 100.575
5. Wawasee 97.4
6. East Noble 96.975
7. Angola 96.875
8. Warsaw 87.775
9. West Noble 86.1