The Consistency Is Starting To Show
WARSAW – There weren’t a boatload of ‘wow moments’ for the standing-room only crowd at the Whitman facility Tuesday night, but the gymnastics teams from Wawasee and Warsaw performed above the norm.
Warsaw posted its best team score of the season, totaling 93.8 points while Wawasee was right around its best figure, scoring 100.425. Peru also competed with a limited outfit and scored 55.575 points.
Youth was the order of the day in the meet – Warsaw and Wawasee were led by freshmen and sophomores.
Reagan Atwood continued her torrid pace this season, scoring 35.3 points to take the all-around first-place ribbon. The sophomore for the Lady Warriors was first on vault (8.7), bars (8.4), beam (9.075) and was barely second on the floor at 9.125, only .25 behind freshman teammate Jada Parzygnot.
Parzygnot herself was second on bars (8.025), third on vault (8.55) and third on beam (7.825). The freshman looked crisp on the floor and kept pace with Atwood on bars with limited stops.
Fellow freshman Alyssa Minnix was second on vault (8.6) and fifth on floor (8.025), giving Wawasee three formidable all-around scores. Parzygnot finished at 33.55 and Minnix settled at 29.9.
Wawasee senior Ashleigh Frecker added a pair of fourth-place figures on vault (8.4) and floor (8.3) and junior Haleigh Smarr was fourth on bars at 7.425.
Wawasee’s point total was only trumped earlier this season at the Plymouth Invite, where the team scored 101.325 – its highest point total in years.
“We know that if we want to go anywhere in the sectional, we need to be in that 103, 104 point range, so this is a good indicator for us,” said Wawasee head coach Nika Prather. “We are starting to consistently score at 100, which is what this talent should be around. We still have some jitters to work out, which should just help those scores a little more.”
Warsaw was very happy with its output, easily running past its previous best team score. The Lady Tigers received another top performance from freshman Remi Beckham, whose 33.275 all-around score was highlighted by a pair of runner-up scores.
Beckham scored 8.6 on vault and 8.15 on beam with performances striped with difficulty. Her 8.775 on floor was good for third, as was her 7.75 bars routine.
Sophomore Hayley Campbell scored 7.6 on beam and 8.4 on vault, both landing in fourth place. Campbell was fourth in all-around at 30.25.
“Remi and Anna (Wainscott) are both doing really well as freshmen for us, and Hayley comes to us as a sophomore from cheer,” stated Warsaw coach Megan Kammerer. “We feel pretty good about the girls that we have out, and they performed well again tonight.”
Peru’s top scores came from Natalie Simmons, who posted a 28.6 all-around, her best total a 7.85 on vault.
Warsaw’s point total over Peru gives the club its first win of the season while Wawasee moves to 4-1 on the season. Warsaw will host Marion next Wednesday while Wawasee will visit Lakeland this Thursday.