The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Mentor gymnast wins state title
Senior later injures both ankles on floor exercise
It’s fair to say few, if any, gymnasts in Ohio have ever had a day in the individual competition at the state meet quite like Kelsey Morgan.
The Mentor senior became a state champion but unfortunately ended the day with a trip to the hospital.
Morgan won balance beam with a score of 9.550, just ahead of North Canton Hoover’s Madeline Berrey (9.500).
She is the fourth area gymnast all-time to a win a state title in the event, joining four-time West Geauga state champion Gina Gastaldo (2003-06), Mayfield’s Amy Bauer (1992) and Riverside’s Maria Salvia (2011).
But sadly, Morgan suffered a major double ankle injury on her next rotation, floor exercise, Cardinals coach Jessica Araps told The News-Herald after the meet.
“Yeah, she rolled off the floor. She was screaming,” Araps said.
“I think she was mostly upset because it was her senior year. She had so much adrenaline because she knew she did so good on beam. And unfortunately, that happened.”
Araps said trainers on site diagnosed ligament damage, but the specificity of the injury was not immediately known until she could be checked at a hospital.
“She had recently kind of pulled them,” Araps said. “They were thinking it was just a matter of time thing.
“She wanted to keep going,
and the trainer was like, ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea.’ Her next event would have been the vault. A lot of times on vault, ankles are injured because you can land really short on it.”
Morgan was able to stay on site at Hilliard Bradley for the postmeet recognition of top-six gymnasts, but had to limp to the podium.
“The cool thing was is that since she didn’t get to finish the meet, her spot goes to the alternate from district, which happened to be her teammate and our other senior, Hannah (Parmertor),” Araps said. “So Hannah kind of got to fill her shoes.”
Morgan is the second state champion gymnast from Mentor, joining Kayla Kosmerl, who won all-around and bars in 2012.
“Oh my gosh, she was so excited,” Araps said. “She mentioned Kayla’s name: ‘Do I get to be on the wall with Kayla?’ And I think she probably would have been up there for all-around, too, if that wouldn’t have happened today. We were excited.”
Araps said she had a hunch Morgan’s beam work would net a good score, but the competition was fierce in the event. The top six was all 9.3 or better.
“So we were the first to go on beam, and in the
gymnastics world, that is always one of the scariest events to go on,” Araps said. “You hit it, or you don’t. She and I have been waiting four years for her to land. Every year, she just let the nerves get the best of her. She kind of fell each year. She was just so clean and hit her routine.
“I did know that the score was good, but I also knew there were a lot of good gymnasts to follow. So I tried to keep track of the other girls.”
Other area gymnasts to get into the top six at state March 1 were Mayfield’s Rebecca Fritz, who tied for sixth on bars, and Chardon’s Julia Carter, who was fourth on vault with a 9.450.