If effort could be measured by the amount of ice wrapped around her body, Chesterton’s Brandi Tuzinski gave it her all on Wednesday night.

The junior gymnast had ice on her back, knees and feet following a tough 112.650-108.675 loss to Portage that included a season-high team score from the Trojans.

Tuzinski captured first place in Bars (9.525) and Beam (9.55), but she couldn’t top Mackeznie Barcelli’s school record-tying 9.8 in Floor on the final routine of the night. Barcelli (38.125) barely edged past Tuzinski (38.075) in All-Around.

“It was hard,” an exhausted Tuzinski said. “We came in here knowing that they were tough. We came in here not worrying about beating them, but wanting to beat our previous best score this year and we did that.”

The Trojans looked impressive again in an effort that has been building over the last three weeks. Lindsey Campbell (35.375) placed fifth in All-Around and was fourth in Floor (9.45).

“Today was really the first time that everything came together for us across the board,” Chesterton coach Lauren West said. “Every girl earned their scores tonight.”

Freshman Jordan Kearby placed sixth in All-Around (34.75) while Taylor Rodriguez (33.125) was seventh.

Despite the loss, West was all smiles after an event that featured two of the top teams in the state. Gymnasts from both sides cheered each other on throughout the night and hugged at the conclusion of the meet.

“There was a lot of competitiveness between the two teams,” West said. “These girls know each other; they are friends with each other. There is a respect there between the two teams. That’s the nature of the sport.”

Tuzinski was happy to go against the undefeated Indians prior to the start of the postseason, but the junior maintained that she doesn’t worry about the size of the meet or who is lining up on the other end of the gym.

“You can’t let the pressure get to you,” Tuzinski said. “Honestly I didn’t really feel any tonight. When it’s a big meet, whether it’s this or sectionals or whatever, you just have to worry about yourself and worry about beating your own score. You can’t worry about anything else.”