With two events still to go, Free State High gymnasts Drue Davis and Kelcy Bowers jumped for joy as if they had just finished first and second at Monday’s Lawrence High All-Around Invitational.

It wasn’t the finish they were celebrating, rather the warmth they provided each other.

“It was so cold in the gym, and we had so long to wait that we were just trying to keep warm,” Davis said.

While first and second turned out to be a stretch, the Firebirds each cracked the top 10, with Davis finishing seventh in the all-around competition, with a 34.475, and Bowers close behind in ninth, with a 33.375.

The highlight of the night for the Firebirds was Davis’ 9.4 on the floor exercise that capped the evening. After falling on the vault to open the meet, Davis steadily improved in each of the next three events to climb into the top 10 at the end.

“Overall, it was not a great meet for me,” she said. “I was really happy with the floor and all that, but in the vault I landed on my face, and I didn’t want to do that.”

On the beam, Davis and Bowers both overcame minor mistakes to deliver memorable performances. Each girl fell to the mat while trying a tricky maneuver early on, but both managed to hop back up and finish strong, complete with near-flawless landings.

On the floor, the girls electrified the hometown crowd with a mixture of bubbly personality and raw power.

The two events are strengths for both girls.

Davis finished the night with four scores above 8.0 – 8.6 vault, 8.075 bars, 8.4 beam and 9.4 floor.

Despite finishing lower in the overall standings, Bowers wound up with four scores that topped 8.1 – 8.6 vault, 8.1 bars, 8.425 beam and 8.65 floor.

While each of the 14 teams present was allowed to enter up to three competitors, the host school entered just one, Caitlin Haig. Lawrence High was shorthanded because of an ankle injury to Maria Carvajal, a threat to finish in the top 5 at any all-around competition.

With Carvajal in street clothes, Haig did her best to represent LHS, finishing in 33rd place with 27.5 points.

Haig’s best event of the night came last, with most of the eyes in the gym focused on her during her floor routine. After tumbling and dancing her way to a 7.2, Haig flashed her biggest smile of the night.

“That was mostly because I did well,” she said. “But also because I was really relieved to be done with the night.”

Haig had her share of ups and downs on a night in which she competed in the uneven bars for one of the few times during her high school career.

“I hadn’t really competed in bars much before, and I just did it so I could compete tonight,” Haig said of the bars, a requirement to enter the all-around competition.

Josselyn Mackey, of Lee’s Summit, Mo., won the competition with a 36.4. Her teammates, Rachel Tillotson and Brittany Kallenberger, placed second and fourth, respectively.

Next up for LHS and Free State is Saturday’s Newton Invitational.