Skye's the limit as Bay Shore/Islip's Skye Harper wins each event in Suffolk Individual Championship

On Friday evening, Skye had no limit.

Bay Shore/Islip senior gymnast Skye Harper placed first in the all-around at the Suffolk individual championships at Babylon, with a score of 38.200, and notched first-place finishes in all four individual events as well, securing her spot on the Suffolk state team.

“I felt like the energy was great overall, so that helped me out a lot,” said Harper, who attends Bay Shore. “If you put in the training, then you’re good. It’s about having fun and doing what I know how to do.”

Harper credited a solid start for helping her settle into a rhythm, adding that her 9.800 score on vault was “the highest score I got all season.” She followed up with a 9.350 on bars, a 9.500 on beam and a 9.550 on floor.

“If my first event is good, then everything carries on from that,” Harper said. “Every time I was warming up [for an event], there weren’t issues and my body felt good.”

While Harper said she felt her best event was on the vault, Bay Shore/Islip coach Robin Thomas was especially impressed by her performance on the beam.

“She amazes me on beam because she just goes up, she doesn’t even really warm up,” Thomas said. “She just gets up there and she’s in the zone.”

Harper’s teammate Kerin Spadaro, a junior who attends Islip, placed second in the all-around at 36.275. She also recorded a second-place finish on bars (9.200) and is no stranger to states, qualifying for the team every year since she was in seventh grade.

“Bars was definitely my strongest event,” Spadaro said. “That felt really good today.”

Ward Melville junior Rianna Adams rounded out the top three in all-around with a 35.575, a highlight in her first season on varsity. She placed second in the vault with a 9.575.

“Making the state team is such a huge accomplishment,” Adams said. “I got a really good score [on vault], so that kind of boosted my confidence for the rest of the meet.”

The state championship will take place Feb. 29 at Cold Spring Harbor. After a dominant performance at the individual championship, Harper isn’t looking to change her approach much, confident in what she can do no matter the event.

“I don’t really get nervous anymore because over the past couple of years, I’ve had to learn the skills, but now it’s just about consistency,” Harper said. “So, everything is a lot easier and I can go out and compete."