Lauren West was nowhere near panic mode after Chesterton dropped its own gymnastics invitational for just the second time in 19 years.

Sure, West was hoping that the Trojans would push past Crown Point in the final events, but the second year coach is more interested in getting better with each event than she is concerned with winning.

Crown Point used a team-effort to pull out a 105.95-105.5 win over the Trojans on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs also won the Chesterton Invitational in 2005, an event that’s been heavily dominated by the hosts.

“The scores could’ve been better, but the scores can always be better,” West said. “I’m really proud of my girls. I’m happy that I’m starting to see consistency.”

Chesterton junior Brandi Tuzinski led the Trojans with a second-place All-Around finish. Tuzinski took top honors in the Beam (9.4) while registering fourth place in the Vault (9.35), fifth in the Bars (9.05) and sixth in the Floor (9.45).

“Brandi was solid as usual,” West said. “She still gets in her head a little bit, but she’s a rock.”

The Trojans had to count three falls as part of their overall score, but West was still smiling as the final scores started to roll in. West knew it would be close between Chesterton and Crown Point and the second-year coach didn’t have any issue finishing behind the Bulldogs.

“They were very tough and very consistent,” West said. “They put together some good routines and now this gives us good motivation to push forward.”

West had been seeing improvement from her squad in recent practices and the Trojans were buoyed by the return of Lyndsey Campbell to the lineup. Campbell notched a pair of top-five finishes in the Floor and Bars.

“This week we’ve had some huge growths,”West said. “The girls have really started to click. We just want to focus on improving from week to week. We’re still getting the nerves out and when we do, the scores will start to improve.”

1. Crown Point, 105.95; 2. Chesterton, 105.5; 3. Michigan City, 104.9; 4. LaPorte, 103.701; 5. Homestead, 101.3; 6. Elkhart Central, 101.25; 7. Angola, 100.3; 8. Lakeland, 97; 9. Morgan Twp., 38.1

All-Around -- 1. Kylee Maxwell (MT) 38.1, 2. Brandi Tuzinski (C) 37.25, 3. Alex Cool (H) 37.05, 4. Hannah Sightes (L) 36.1, 5. Hannah Best (CP) 35.5, 6. Ashley Koza (MC) 35.45.

Beam -- 1. Tuzinski (C) 9.4, 2. Maxwell (MT) 9.25, 3. Koza (MC) 9.25, 4. Cool (H) 9.15, 5. Sightes (L) 9.1, 6. Marissa Hill (L) 9.05.

Bars -- 1. Maxwell (MT) 9.5, 2. Koza (MC) 9.2, 3. Lindsay Campbell (C) 9.15, 4. Holly Lehman (EC) 9.1, 5. Tuzinski (C) 9.05, 6. Sightes (L) 8.9.

Vault -- 1. Maxwell (MT) 9.8, 2. Cool (H) 9.5, 3. Natalie Groff (CP) 9.45, 4. Tuzinski (C) 9.35, 5. Best (CP) 9.3, 6. Sightes (L) 9.2.

Floor -- 1. Cassidy Feldsein (WT) 9.7, 2. Cool (H) 9.6, 3. Maxwell (MT) 9.55, 4. Campbell (C) 9.5, 5. Koza (MC) 9.5, 6. Tuzinski (C) 9.45.

Posted 1/28/2013