ELKHART – In the first taste of local gymnastics for Wawasee, the Blazer Invite was worth the wait as the formal season got underway Saturday.

Taylor Busse put together a day to remember, placing second in the all-around at 33.4 that included a 9.0, first-place showing on beam and teammate Molly Smith also finished in the top seven in all-around for the Lady Warriors.

Busse scored a 7.3 on bars for fifth and 8.8 on floor to tie Smith for third while Smith added an 8.4 on vault to lead the Lady Warriors. Smith posted her best all-around score at 29.65, Busse’s all-around score was also a career-high.

Wawasee finished fourth as a team behind Elkhart Central, Plymouth and Lakeland, respectively.

Also adding to the performance value for Wawasee were a 7.4 on floor from Taylor Heck, 6.8 on beam by Jadelyne Skelton and 8.2 on vault from Ashleigh Frecker.

Cassie Quissell took the all-around title with a 35.0 while leading all scorers on bars with an 8.7. Elkhart Central had a pair of individual champions in Libby Yeakey on floor at 9.050 and Kiara Stabler on vault at 9.0.

Wawasee will host its first dual of the season Jan. 14 when state champion Alex Nickel and her Angola teammates come calling.