Led by first-place finishes in two events by Tarra Nichols, the Emporia High gymnastics team totaled its highest point output of the season Thursday night during the Emporia High Invitational.
The Lady Spartans compiled a team score of 91.40 points, largely because EHS fielded a complete team.
However, it was not enough to lift Emporia past the other three teams at the invite, as EHS finished fourth out of four teams. Shawnee Mission South won the invite with a score of 96.80, while Shawnee Mission West (96.10) and Shawnee Mission North (95.85) followed.
Nichols was particularly strong for the Lady Spartans, taking first in her specialty event, the bars, as well as claiming gold in the floor exercise.
She scored a 9.05 on the bars, easily distancing herself from the second-place finisher, Shawnee Mission West’s Christy Cash. On the floor, Nichols scored a 9.00, again beating out Cash (8.90) for the event title, but by a lesser margin.
Nichols added a fifth-place finish on the beam to her pair of wins, giving her enough points to finish second in the All-Around competition. Nichols picked up a total of 33.75 points, less than a point behind Cash, who won the All-Around with a total score of 34.70.
Hayley Fry was Emporia’s other All-Around competitor, finishing ninth with a score of 7.40. Fry’s consistency helped her in the All-Around, as her lone placing came on the beam with a fourth-place finish with a score of (7.80).
The EHS competitors were strong in the vault, as Fry and Nichols each scored 8.20 to finish just .20 points back of the medalists. Jamie Hollern also finished with a score of 8.00 in the event.