Valpo’s best, CP’s Best advance to finals
By Mark Smith msmsith@post-trib.com March 12, 2013 12:12PM
Crown Point's Hannah Best competes on the uneven parallel bars during the Gymnastics Regional at Valparaiso High School Friday night. | Jeffrey D. Nicholls~Sun-Times Media
Valparaiso
Gymnastics Regional
3-9-13, at Valparaiso high school
1. Valparaiso 113.875;
2. Portage 112.40
3. CROWN POINT 106.450
4. Angola 103.815
5. Plymouth 100.75;
6. DeKalb 99.50
FLOOR EXERCISE
State qualifying score: 9.425
1. Morgan Algozine (Val) 9.750
1. Mackenzie Barcelli (P) 9.750
1. Danielle Solis (P) 9.750
4. Alex Cool (Hamilton) 9.675
5. Alex Nickel (Angola) 9.550
6. Madison Kurtz (P) 9.550
7. HANNAH BEST (CP) 9.550
8. Emily Crosmer (Val) 9.375
9. Brandi Tuzinski (Ches) 9.350
10. Hannah Erwin (Val) 9.325
1. VALPARAISO (113.575) Vault -Bars-Beam-Floor
Morgan Algozine (V) 9.80-9.725-9.775-9.725 (39.050)
Hannah Erwin (V) 9.20-9.55-9.35-9.325 (37.425)
2. PORTAGE (112.400)
Mackenzie Barcelli (P) 9.45-9.325-9.50-9.75 (38.025)
Danielle Solis (P) 9.675-8.55-9.20-9.750 (37.175)
Madison Kurtz (P) 9.575-9.025-9.050- 9.55 (37.200)
3. CROWN POINT (106.450)
Hannah Best (CP) 9.225-9.075-8.85-9.55 (36.700)
Megan Supan (CP) 8.825-8.075-8.90-9.250 (35.050)
Natalie Groff (CP) 8.725-8.325-9.00-8.55 (34.600)
Article Extras
VALPARAISO — It was obvious early in Friday night’s Valparaiso gymnastics regional that the top two teams in the state (Valparaiso and Portage) would be the top two finishers at the regional.
And since only the top two teams advance from regional competition advance to the state finals in gymnastics, the suspense of the evening was somewhat muted early on.
But in a year in which Crown Point won two invitationals, placed third in both the Duneland Athletic Conference and the Chesterton Sectional, there would be one more accomplishment.
The Lady Bulldogs got someone to the state finals. Late in the three-hour prime-time show, in CP’s final event, freshman Hannah Best drew a 9.55 on the floor exercise to tie for the final quaifying spot for Saturday’s state finals at Ball State University this Saturday at 11:30 a.m. (CDT).
“I was hoping to,” Best said. “But I really didn’t know. I thought it could be on the floor or on the bars. I knew I had a chance. I just wanted to show off the best I could.”
Best (36.700) barely missed the top six in the all-around scores, which would have sent her to the state finals in every event, but she didnt seem to mind.
“That’s the second best I’ve done,” Hannah said of the 36.7. “My best was at the sectional last week.”
The thing about the state finals is that anybody can do anything once tey get there.
“You want to go last,” said coach Ami Pysh. “And you wait and see. She’ll either be up very early or she’ll be up late. But if you’re up late, you never know.”
“The only time Crown Point ever won was in 2000. I was a judge then. Lisa Diederich. And she had to wait all day. She was on the floor too.”
Valparaiso won with all-around champion Morgan Algozine, whose score of 39.050 was far ahead of second place Danielle Solis (37.175) of Portage.
Sectional champion Valparaiso also won the regional 113.875-112.400 over rival Portage and both advance to the finals.
“I’m just so happy with how we did tonight,” Pysh said. “We knew coming in here we weren’t going to be able to score 112 or 113. The 106.45 isn’t as good as last week but we were third and that’s what we were last week. We only lost to Valpo and Portage during the (regular) season and they were the only teams we lost to here.”
REGIONAL NOTES: Morgan Township’s Kylee Maxwell scored a 9.8 on the parallel bars to take the regional title and tied CP’s Hannah Best with a 9.55 all-around to advance to the finals in all events.
No gymnast from any of the Porter County Conference schools has ever won a state title in any event.
Crown Point’s representative group will head for the state finals this coming Friday night. The finals program begins at 11:30 Lake County time Saturday at Worthen Arena on the campus of Ball Stat e University.
The finals trationally had been at Perry Meridian high school on the south side of Indianapolis.
“I haven’t been there since I graduated high school,” admitted Pysh, who hoped that some of CP’s no qualifying gymnasts would be able to go to the finals with Hannah Best.
Before the bars routine last Friday, as the freshman was waiting to perform, three of Best’s teammates walked up to her and surrounded her and could be seen talking.
“They were just trying to calm new down,” said Best. “I get nervous sometimes.”
For gymnastics, half of the stands at the green-themed Valpo gym and folded up to create more space on the floor for the four events. With those limitations, the gym was almost filled to capacity with perhaps 1,500 people watching the regional.
