STATE GYMNASTICS

Jackets' Williams fifth in all-around

Archbold's Smith 4th in the floor exercise

Junior Kinsey Smith of Archbold compete on the floor exercise, where she earned a fourth-place finish. That helped her to a 15th-place finish in the all-around at the state meet Saturday at Hilliard Bradley High School.

Jeff Mills/Impact Action Sports

Chelsea Williams of Perrysburg compete on the balance beam at the state meet. She placed fourth on the vault and finished fifth on bars.

HILLIARD, Ohio -- Intent on trying to improve on last year's fourth-place all-around finish during the individual state gymnastics, Perrysburg senior Chelsea Williams increased the difficulty level on her vault routine.

She stuck the landing, but judges at Hilliard Bradley weren't impressed enough to give her the best score.

It turned into a day of coming up just short of her hopes, as Williams finished fifth with a score of 36.750. Mentor's Kayla Kosmerl was first-all-around (37.875) and one of three to finish ahead of Williams on vault.

Williams tied for fourth on vault (9.575) and added a tie for fifth on bars (9.250).

"I thought I did pretty well, other than falling on beam," said Williams, whose other scores were 9.1 on floor and 8.825 on beam. "Today was pretty much just about enjoying my last high school meet.

"I thought I competed as well or better than I did [during the state team meet Friday]. I got in the top four at state last year, and I [hoped] to move up by just trying to make my routines cleaner."

"It wasn't her best meet, but it wasn't her worst meet," coach Michelle Nordhause said. "She's the only one in the state who does a twist and flip on vault, but it wasn't marked where it needed to be marked. Other coaches were like, 'That vault didn't win?' She had a great high school career. She was a state qualifier all four years, and she's got some big meets coming up."

Also earning a spot on the podium was Archbold junior Kinsey Smith, who placed fourth on floor exercise (9.375). She finished 15th (35.450) all-around and turned in scores of 9.100 on vault, 8.375 on bars, and 8.600 on beam.

Junior Kinsey Smith of Archbold compete on the floor exercise, where she earned a fourth-place finish. That helped her to a 15th-place finish in the all-around at the state meet Saturday at Hilliard Bradley High School.

Findlay junior Alexa Settlemire (35.725), Napoleon senior Riley Dunbar (34.675), and Northview freshman Sydney Audet (34.025) were others from the area who competed in all-around.

Also turning in strong finishes were Clay's Kylee Ault on floor (9.175) and Jody Demeo on beam (9.00), Dunbar on floor (9.125) and beam (9.025), and Settlemire on vault (9.425).

"It was probably one of my best days on floor all year," said Dunbar, who is planning to compete for Ohio State's club team next year. "I hit all of my passes, and I danced well. The atmosphere at state is really fun. It's nice to see the competition and get to see where you stand with the best in the state."

"I thought [Ault] did a great routine [on floor], and Jody did awesome on the beam," Clay coach Nick Distel said.