Carissa Schmitz had never competed in the balance beam in her life. She just started practicing last week, a weak full of falls.
But on Monday night at the Emporia High quad, Schmitz performance on the beam was the highlight of the night. The EHS senior nailed her routine and placed sixth.
“I’ve never competed and I was really leery about even attempting it today,” Schmitz said. “But it’s totally worth it now that I can see how well I can do under pressure.”
Schmitz helped the Spartans finish third out of four teams at the quad. Shawnee Mission South won the meet, followed by SM North and SM West finished fourth. Schmitz had two of the three top six finishes for the Spartans. She also finished sixth on the floor, tying teammate Kaitlyn Miller.
The Spartans benefited from their home crowd finishing with a season high score of 80.55. The meet is one of two at home all season
“It’s kind of nerve racking, because when we’re away, nobody knows us and it doesn’t matter if we mess up,” Miller said. “But I think it gives us a little bit more adrenaline and more pressure to do better. It helps.”
Miller had season high scores on the vault and floor. She finished seventh in the all-around and was hurt by her score on the beam, falling off the beam five times.
“Today was just kind of an off day,” Miller said. “And like my coach said, she probably couldn’t have paid me to stay on today.”
Miller made up for the lost points on the vault.
“I’ve been kind of having problems on vault, but I did good today I guess,” she said. “It’s not my favorite, but I try.”
The vault was the best event for the Spartans on the night. Their 32.6 was the highest team total and six of their seven gymnasts finished with scores over seven. Schmitz had an 8.0 and Haley Risley was 0.1 point behind Miller with an 8.2.
EHS coach Barbara Clark said the quad was good prep for the Spartans meet on Saturday at Lawrence Free State, where it’s a good bet that Schmitz will be back on the balance beam.
“I feel like the floor is my stronger event so I tend to go to that instead of my weaker ones, which is something I need to work on,” Schmitz said. “I think I do better under pressure than getting myself frustrated at practice.”
Monday at Emporia High
Team scores
1. SM South 96.9
2. SM North 89.05
3. Emporia 80.55
4. SM West 52.8
Vault
Kylie Mains 6.7
Carissa Schmitz 8
Madison Reiber 7.8
Kayla Baker 7.4
Kristina McAuley 7.6
Haley Risley 8.2
Kaitlyn Miller 8.3
Balance beam
Schmitz 7.1 (sixth place)
McAuley 5.8
Risley 6.6
Baker 6.7
Miller 5.5
Floor
Maranda Rust 6.8
McAuley 4.3
Reiber 5.8
Risley 7.4
Schmitz 8 (tied for sixth)
Miller 8 (tied for sixth)
Bars
McAuley 3.1
Baker 3.3
Risley 3.4
Miller 5.95