Emporia High’s Tarra Nichols placed third in the uneven parallel bars Saturday at the Newton Invitational to give the EHS gymnastics team its only medalist of the day.
Nichols turned in a score of 8.7 on the bars, putting her behind only Alyson Ramsey of Olathe South (9.25) and Lauren Morris of Hutchinson (9.2).
“She looked pretty good,” EHS gymnastics Barbara Clark said. “She thought there were some things she could’ve improved on, but she’s looking stronger and stronger all the time — she’s more confident. She really wants to go to State on bars.”
Nichols’ finish on the bars set her up for an 11th-place finish in the All-Around competition, ending her day with a score of 31.25. Morris won the All-Around title with a score of 35.85. Emporia’s Hayley Fry placed 13th in the All-Around (30.85).
Emporia as a team seventh out of seven teams, finishing with a score of 88.25. Olathe South won the team title with a 99.125, followed by Newton (98.23), Hutchinson (98.0), Olathe North (96.55), Lawrence (94.35) and Lawrence Free State (88.95).
“I noticed that on floor, we didn’t hit very well with some of our skills,” Clark said, “but we have been getting some harder things put into our routines.
“Some of the girls are working on harder tumbling skills, and that’s going to help our team.”
On the vault, Fry placed 10th with an 8.3 while Nichols came in 14th with an 8.25.
Along with Nichols’ finish on the bars was Fry, who ended with a 6.8.
Fry was Emporia’s top finisher on the beam, coming in 11th with a 7.95. Nichols finished with a 6.65, while Jamie Hollern had a 6.45, Haley Risley had a 6.35, Kayla Baker had a 6.25 and Jenna Peterson had a 5.85.
Fry also led EHS on the floor, scoring a 7.8 while Nichols scored a 7.65. Hollern scored a 7.2, Jennie Loucks had a 7.15 and Calle Arndt had a 6.55.