For The Tribune

The Seymour High School gymnastics team opened its season Saturday morning on the road against Columbus East, falling 107.4-99.2.

“I think that coming in that a lot of the girls are young and that we had a lot of the first meet jitters that we weren’t prepared for,” Owls coach Angie Mellencamp said. “But it was a good experience. The girls can take the opportunity, learn from it and move on and hopefully fire themselves up for the next meet.”

Kellsye Warner had a strong performance for the Owls placing second in the balance beam (9.25) and third in the uneven bars (8.4) and floor exercise (9.25).

Warner finished second in the all- around with a score of 35.1.

Grace Furlon placed third in vault (8.7) with Ivy Brown placing fourth in the event (8.5)

Moving forward, with the first meet jitters behind them, Mellencamp wants to focus on cleaning up routines by eliminating any extra falls that may deduct points for the team.

“We have a lot to work on, just sticking in general needs to start happening,” Mellencamp said. “We had extra falls and you just can’t be competitive when your feet are hitting the floor that much. Cleaning up and hitting connections, because your bonus comes from all your connections. A lot of the girls had little bobbles and stops today.”

The Owls will next host Franklin Central on Jan. 11.