The Emporia High gymnastics team opened its season with a third-place finish Monday at the Hutchinson Invitational.
Emporia finished with a team score of 85.85, while Newton won the team title (97.75) followed by Hutchinson (94.9).
“The first meet is always a meet to see where my team is skill-wise and how in shape they are to handle a full-out routine,” coach Barbara Clark said. “I saw some good things and things that we really need to work on.”
All-Around performers Hayley Fry and Tarra Nichols led the way for EHS, as Fry placed third and Nichols came in fourth in the All-Around competition.
Fry’s top event of the night came on the beam, where she picked up a second-place finish with a score of 8.5.
Fry also placed in two other events, coming in fourth in the vault (8.65) and sixth on the bars (7.4). She finished with a score of 7.7 on the floor.
“Beam, I felt, was a bright spot for our girls,” Clark said. “Hayley Fry had a very impressive routine and no falls. Jamie Hollern had a no fall routine too, and she has worked hard to get herself back from being injured last year and not competing. Kelsey Downs had a good routine and is still working on making it better.”
Nichols’ best event came on the bars, where she earned a second-place finish of her own with a score of 8.5. She also placed fifth on the floor (8.0) and sixth on the vault (8.5).
“Tarra Nichols looked strong on bars,” Clark said, “and her offseason workouts and conditioning have set her up to be a strong contender on bars.”
The only other EHS gymnast to place was Hollern, who finish fifth in the beam with a score of 7.6.
Emporia’s next competition comes at 11 a.m. Saturday at Shawnee Mission North.
3 ESU athletes earn MIAA athlete of the week honors
Emporia State football player Emmanuel Howard and ESU cross country runners Skyler Delmott and Jonel Rossbach were awarded MIAA athlete of the week honors, the conference announced Monday.
Howard, a 6-foot-1 senior from Indianapolis, Ind., won defensive player of the week after leading the Hornets to a 17-7 upset victory over Central Oklahoma on Saturday.
He had two interceptions and also returned one 40 yards for ESU’s first touchdown.
Delmott, a 5-10 sophomore from Emporia, placed sixth at the University of Kansas Bob Timmons Invitational on Saturday. His 8K time of 26:56.61 was third among Division-II competitors in the field.
Rossbach, a 5-8 senior from Omaha, placed second at the Bob Timmons Invitational.
In a field that included many D-I schools, Rossbach finished second with a time of 22:22.16.
Emporia-based Carstar softball team wins 1st 2 games
On Sunday, The Emporia Carstar girls softball team won its first two games playing in the Ken Berry League in Topeka.
Emporia won 13-1 in its first game as Cassandra Huth picked up the win.
She recorded almost every out via the strikeout, fanning 14 batters in five innings.
Lanae Wells led the offense, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Lauren Kimball and Katie Weaver added two runs each.
In the nightcap, Abby Himel took the win, allowing no runs in three innings.
Maryann Bennett paced Emporia’s bats, going 2-for-2.
Katie Weaver, Lacie Schumann and Chelsea Goins are the other Emporians on the team.
Carstar will play again next Sunday in Topeka.