Chesterton coach Lauren West referred to sophomore gymnast Marisa Myers as "nails" after Saturday's Chesterton Sectional.
Myers appeared to earn the moniker with her gutsy performance. Myers injured her right heel on her uneven bars dismount, limped noticeably after her beam dismount but still performed on floor exercise -- in her team's final rotation.
Her 9.225 gave the Trojans the momentum they needed to secure the third and final qualifying spot for Friday's Valparaiso Regional.
"She doesn't complain, she doesn't cry," West said of Myers. "She deals with it. She's showed a lot of maturity and mental strength."
Myers has endured a season of pain, but it hasn't stopped her from performing. In the early part of the season, she deal with shin splints, and Myers believes she might have had some stress fractures. About a week ago, she was diagnosed with tendinitis in her elbow.
Then came last Saturday's injury on bars.
"I hit the low bar with my toes on my second giant and that made me fly out," Myers said. "I kind of slid to the floor (on the dismount)."
A back tuck on the beam aggravated the injury, but she remained undaunted.
"I was in a lot of pain," Myers said. "I was never thinking about not doing floor.
"I had people come up to me afterward with tears in their eyes, because they understood what pain I was in -- and they I knew I still went out there and did it."
Myers, who performed at last year's regional on floor, has been a key contributor on this year's squad.
West is impressed most with Myers' abilities on beam.
"She is just so fluid with her moves," West said. "That beam is just 4 inches wide, and she's shown that she can do her flips and score in the 9s consistently."
Myers' 9.55 on beam at the Chesterton Invitational on Jan. 29 helped the team break the meet record on the event (28.8).
Myers had a fall on beam at sectional, but she wouldn't blame it on her injury.
"That had nothing to do with it," Myers said. "It was just a stupid mistake on my part. My foot got caught. I still did my flip."
Myers has been a gymnast since she was 2, and she's truly looking forward to the regional.
Myers' right leg has been in a protective boot since Tuesday, but she expects to perform beam, floor and bars at the regional. She's made that perfectly clear with her coach.
"I asked her (Monday) if she was going to be able to compete (Friday), and she got upset," West said. "I told her that I would love to see her compete.
"We're just trying to be smart about it."
Myers appreciates her coach's concern, but she doesn't feel like she's pushing herself too hard.
"Vault was going to be out of the question," Myers said. "I've just worked so hard to get to this point. I'm confident I can do this."
Please Wait…