Kristal Uzelac isn't doing too badly for someone who almost quit gymnastics.

She was supposed to compete in the all-around Saturday afternoon, one week after doing it for the first time at Michigan, but was limited to two events because of shin splints.

Uzelac didn't waste her time, though, and put on one heck of a show.

The freshman competed only on the balance beam and uneven bars and produced -- in her short time -- a career high on bars with a 9.925, which also happened to be the overall winning score for the meet. She added a 9.825 on beam, which was just below her high of 9.850, good enough for second place in the event.

The 9.925 tied her for second place on Penn State's all-time scores with a host of other gymnasts, most recently Michelle Ilg in 2004.

"Kristal was really solid on bars and beam," Penn State coach Steve Shephard said.

In Penn State's meet with Michigan, Uzelac netted the Lions' highest all-around score of the season (39.175), a mark surpassed Saturday by classmate Lindsay Borkan (39.325).

"We are really fortunate with our depth," Shephard said.

Uzelac has been in gymnastics since she was 2, aided by her mother, who was a gymnast and a coach. The younger Uzelac made it to Level 10 gymnastics, the elite level for youth gymnasts that allows athletes to compete internationally and try out for the Olympics, something Uzelac almost did in 2004.

"I got hurt in January [of 2004], and the Olympics were in August," she said. "I still competed, but I wasn't at my full ability."

This season, the three-time junior national champion has seen her most meet action in a while after taking a year away from the sport and thinking about leaving gymnastics all together. She had an injury and realized she had been in gymnastics for a while, but stuck through it and showed up on Penn State's doorstep.

"Kristal is a great competitor," junior Jennifer Orlando said. "She looked real solid and confident [Saturday]."

Uzelac said the biggest differences between college and high school gymnastics are that the high school level rewards individuals, whereas college is more team-oriented, and that the collegiate level has competitions every weekend, while high school events are spread farther apart.

She received the Ann Carr Award, given for the most inspirational performance of the meet, after the tri-meet with Illinois and Pittsburgh.

As far as not being able to compete in the all-around, Uzelac was disappointed, but needed to rest her injury.

"I wish I could have done all-around," she said. "I'll get it next weekend."