Columbus North High School

March 10, 2024 - For the second consecutive year, Columbus North gymnasts landed on the podium at the IHSAA State Gymnastics Championships with a fourth-place finish. The Bull Dogs were making their 28th consecutive appearance at the State Finals, second in Indiana history only to Valparaiso's current 30-year streak. The Bull Dogs drew the Balance Beam for their first event of the championship, and after a disappointing 25.8 team total, they were happy to put that event behind them. However, the Dogs bounced back quickly with a 27.15 team score on the Floor Exercise, but still found themselves in seventh place after two rotations. An outstanding 27.9 score on the Vault shot the Bull Dogs up the leaderboard into fourth place after three rotations. North finished on the Uneven Bars (26.975) and earned their trip to the podium in fourth place with a season-best score of 107.825. Reese Euler concluded her stellar year with a third-place finish in the All-Around, bettering her fourth-place finish last year as a sophomore. She placed in the top four in all four individual events to finish with a season-best score of 38.2. Euler tied for fourth on the Uneven Bars (9.575), was fourth alone on the Balance Beam (9.525), and was third on both the Vault (9.575) and Floor Exercise (9.425). Sophomore Hannah Perry competed in the All-Around at the State Championships for the first time after competing in only three of the four events last year (Vault, Floor Exercise, and Balance Beam). Perry finished 19th in the All-Around with a season-best score of 35.625. She tied for ninth on the Floor Exercise (9.175), was 28th on Balance Beam (8.425), 23rd on Uneven Bars (8.725), and tied for 15th on Vault (9.3). Senior Laney Acton was 43rd on Balance Beam (7.15) and tied for 42nd on Floor Exercise (8.325). Junior Arwyn Tian was 39th on Balance Beam (7.85). Sophomore Ellie McIntier tied for 18th on the Vault (9.025) and was 35th on Uneven Bars (8.3). Freshman Emerson Chambers finished 15th on the Uneven Bars (8.675) and was 40th on the Floor Exercise (8.55). Crown Point took the team title with 113.15 team points, followed by Valparaiso (109.25), Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (108.85), and Columbus North. Rounding out the team rankings were Bloomington North in fifth, Fort Wayne Carroll in sixth, Angola seventh, Lake Central eighth, and Bloomington South in ninth. Crown Point senior Elsie Kiran won the individual All-Around title (38.425) as well as the Mental Attitude Award. Franklin Central’s senior Austyn Dykes was second in the All-Around (38.2), edging Euler by just one-tenth of a point.