MUNCIE
Kellsye Warner didn’t quite get a medal Saturday, but she did earn a little redemption.
Warner, who fell on her beam routine in last year’s Gymnastics State Finals, had a clean routine this time. The Seymour senior finished seventh on the event with a 9.325.
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“I am so proud of her for hitting her beam routine,” Seymour coach Angie Mellencamp said. “I think it’s haunted her since last year when she had her fall here.”
Warner’s score was just five-hundreths of a point out of the sixth and final medal spot. She also tied for eighth on the floor with a 9.525, 75-hundreths of a point out of sixth.
Warner ended up 20th in the all-around competition with a 35.4.
“I feel like I stuck what I needed to,” Warner said. “My goal coming in here was just to stay on the beam because I fell last year, and I accomplished that. So I’m proud of myself.”
The Owls finished ninth as a team with a 102.625 in the event held at Ball State University. Top-ranked Chesterton edged No. 2 Valparaiso 114.4 to 113.95 to win the title, while No. 5 Columbus North (110.4) and No. 3 Columbus East (109.7) were third and fourth.
Seymour’s score was a half-point higher than in last week’s Connersville Regional.
“We definitely didn’t have the perfect storm today, but the girls had a good day,” Mellencamp said. “For never being at the state meet, they did show up today.”
Junior Avery DeHart was the Owls’ top all-around finisher on Saturday, taking 19th with a 35.475. Her best individual event finish was a 19th on the floor with a 9.375.
Junior Brett Kleber and Nicole Elmore and freshmen Ali DeHart and Ivy Brown also competed for Seymour.
“The girls had a great season,” Mellencamp said. “It was definitely a long road, but I’m so happy that today, we got to finish on floor because the girls really hit their floor routines and finished strong. I think nerves definitely played a role on vault and bars today, but it was still a good bars and beam day.”