MasonBuzz.com

Jarrod Ulrey reports:

Crystal Kratzer made the best of a difficult situation the last two months.

During a meet in January, the Mason sophomore broke the big toe on her left foot while competing on the beam, sidelining her for more than a month. When she returned, Kratzer was only able to compete on bars.

That didn’t derail an eventual spot for her on the state podium, however, as she scored 9.225 in her only state event Saturday at Hilliard Bradley to finish third behind Brecksville-Broadview Heights’ Alecia Farina (9.400) and Jessica Matia (9.325).

“I’m pretty proud of it, especially since I had to compete with a broken toe,” Kratzer said. “The bars were the only event I was able to compete in unfortunately. I’m also pretty proud of our team.”

(more…)

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: audrey harpen, brooke middleton, comets, crystal kratzer, gabrielle sora, gymnastics, high beams, hilliard bradley, mason, mason high school

Jarrod Ulrey reports:

After losing five seniors from the team that finished fourth at the state team gymnastics meet a year ago, Mason did its best to compete like veterans Friday at Bradley.

One thing the Comets did to simulate what it would be like to perform on the beam at the same time that Brecksville-Broadview Heights would be competing on the floor exercise to begin the meet was turn up the music to its loudest and have teammates and other onlookers scream during a recent practice.

It helped, as a younger Comets team put together a strong showing in the beam and a fifth-place finish overall that was just .325 points away from duplicating last year’s finish.

“We were on the same routine as Brecksville, and they’re always really loud,” coach Kelly Wones said. “We graduated five from last year, so we have a really young team and for the most part they did well. We turned up the music as loud as it would go (during practice) and it really helped them for sure.”

Mason scored 138.800 to place fifth in the 12-team state meet. Brecksville-Broadview Heights won the championship with 148.325.

The Comets’ top scores came on vault (35.350) and floor (35.050), and it also recorded a 34.425 on beam.

(more…)

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: audrey harpen, beam, bradley, brecksville-broadview heights, brooke middleton, comets, gabrielle sora, gymnastics, kelly wones, maggie fewell, mason high school, nina tavernier, sports

Marc Hardin reports:

Audrey Harpen and Lindsey Colton helped their Mason teammates hold the trophy Saturday after the Comets won their fifth consecutive gymnastics city championship with 139.525 points at Cincinnati Country Day.

Harpen, winner on the vault, floor and all-around, posed for pictures. Colton, sixth all-around, hugged teammates. Off to the side, Mason coach Kelly Wones cheered their accomplishments.

“The girls who started this five years ago raised the bar at our school and set it really high,” Wones said. “That brought a lot of attention to the program, and more girls started coming out for gymnastics. These are those girls and they really want to keep that tradition of winning the city.”

Harpen, a junior, scored 9.25 while winning the vault for the second year in a row. She won the floor exercise with a score of 9.15. She finished fifth on the balance beam and 11th on the uneven bars. She repeated as all-around champion with a score of 35.050.

“It gives me a lot of confidence because I want to get back to state,” said Harpen, who qualified for last year’s OHSAA meet in the floor, vault and all-around events, helping Mason place fourth.

Colton’s top finishes at the city championships were fourth on the uneven bars, ninth on the floor and 10th on vault. Mason had the top four on the vault with runner-up Brook Middleton, third-place Gaby Sora and Maggie Fewell.

The district meet is Saturday at Lakota East. The state championships are the following week in Columbus.

Rounding out the top five at Saturday’s 12-team event were runner-up Lakota East (131), third-place Anderson (129.125), fourth-place Turpin (122.225) and Hamilton (115.950).

Junior Natalie Potts, a state qualifier as a freshman, won the balance beam and was second in the floor exercise for Lakota East. She missed last year’s city meet with a bulging disc in her back.

“I’m very delighted,” Potts said. “I just made sure I worked all summer to get my strength back.”

Emily Caggiano, second in the all-round, third on the uneven bars and sixth on the beam, paced Anderson. Turpin’s Rebecca Swertfeger won on the uneven bars and was third all-around.

Posted in: Uncategorized |

Tags: Tags: audrey harpen, cincinnati country day, city championship, comets, emily caggiano, gymnastics, kelly wones, lindsey colton, mason, mason high school, natalie potts, ohsaa

Jarrod Ulrey reports

There was plenty of ice to go around for Mason’s competitors by the conclusion of the state team gymnastics meet Friday at Hilliard Bradley.

Sophomore Audrey Harpen was showered with hugs and then received a huge ice pack on her left ankle after turning in a team-best 9.05 on the balance beam.

Senior Amythest Gauthier laid on her stomach watching the end of the competition with ice on the middle of her pack.

While it was the kind of scene that could have been painful to watch for coach Kelly Wones and her team, it proved more like a part of the celebration of what the Comets had overcome.

After finishing last a year ago, Mason turned in program-best fourth-place finish with a score of 140.25.

Brecksville-Broadview Heights won its ninth consecutive state championship, and 12th overall, with 148.00. Mentor (143.875) and Strongsville (141.325) rounded out the top three.

“It’s amazing,” Wones said. “It’s hard to finish on beam, and they knew to do well that they had to stick it on beam. I’m really proud of them. We’ve never placed higher than seventh before.”

Harpen’s injury occurred Monday while doing a practice routine on the floor exercise.

Gauthier, who battles chronic back problems, scored a team-best 9.3 on floor while Harpen scored 8.85 in the event.

Mason’s best finish came on vault, where it scored 35.85. Harpen scored 9.05, senior Jenna Bovenzi scored 8.95 and Gauthier and sophomore Brooke Middleton both scored 8.925.

On bars, Gauthier had a team-best 9.025 and Harpen scored 8.7.

“It feels better now that I’m done,” Harpen said. “I was just trying to get over this and compete. I was in practice and I landed sideways and it popped. I’ve never really been injured before this.”

Both Harpen and Gauthier competed in club gymnastics last year and were new to the program this winter. Harpen didn’t join the team until December.

Neither, however, would trade the experience of helping Mason reach new heights.

“I just recently joined the team, and it’s been way more fun (than club),” Harpen said. “Some of the teams here are really good, but I thought we fit in pretty well.”

“I fractured my back last year and it’s not really gotten a lot better,” Gauthier said. “Last year we were in last place (at state). To come out and be competitive like this is huge. We have 10 girls and we’ve had 10 girls the whole season. We’ve had to overcome some adversity. I wanted to feel like I was part of a team and I feel like I’ve gotten the full experience.”

Both Gauthier and Harpen will compete all-around and Middleton will compete on vault during the individual state meet today at Bradley.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Amythest Gauthier, audrey harpen, brooke middleton, high school state gymnastics meet, jenna bovenzi, kelly wones, Mason gymnastics, mason high school, Mason High School gymnastics, Mason High School sports, Mason sports

The Mason Comets gymnastics team will seek to prolong its winning streak Saturday at the Lakota East Invitational.

Last weekend, the Comets smashed its team record by nearly two points and took a first place finish at the Centerville Elk Invitational.

Sophomore Audrey Harpen broke a school record by winning the all-around competition with a score of 39.925.  The previous record was set by Shannon DeHart in 2005.

The Comets placed four all-around athletes in the top 8, including senior Amethyst Gauthier (34.6), freshman Kylie Agin (33.225) and sophomore Brooke Middleton (32.8).  Gauthier also won the vault and bars competition.

The Comets won its fourth straight Comet Cup on Jan. 14 at its own invitational and reclaimed the Indian Cup Jan. 7 at the Cincinnati Country Day Invitational.

The Comets look for an encore performance in the 19-team Lakota meet.  Teams take to the mats at 9:30 a.m. at 6840 Lakota Lane, Liberty Township.  Admission is $6 for adults and $4 for students.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: amethyst gauthier, audrey harpen, brooke middleton, centerville elk invitational, comet cup, comets, gymnastics, indian cup, kylie agin, lakota east invitational, mason, mason high school, shannon dehart