Rachel Inniss refused to fumble.

And for that, the sophomore gymnast will always feel the pain.

Inniss, a high school junior at the time, had a football tucked away and was on the run at the annual Rio Rancho (New Mexico) High School “powder puff” game. Now, catching up with Inniss isn’t exactly easy, as she was also one of Rio Rancho’s runners.

The only thing that could stop Inniss was an outstretched foot.

“I just held on to it and landed directly on my shoulder,” Inniss said. “It was a really rough game.”

No kidding.

The ball didn’t squirt loose, but Inniss’ acromioclavicular joint was thrown out of whack.

The injury, sustained in one of the few sports she didn’t dominate in high school, had an immediate and lasting effect on her career as a gymnast.

Then, it caused her to quit after her junior year.

“It wasn’t fun anymore,” Inniss said.

Inniss, of course, reneged on that decision.

A sophomore, Inniss has worked her way into the regular rotation in both the floor exercise and beam. She’s been impressive, particularly on the floor, where’s she scored a 9.90 and two 9.850s in the three meets she participated in.

Inniss missed last week’s meet against Iowa State because her left shoulder flared up with pain earlier in the week at practice during a routine tumbling exercise. Inniss’ services would have been called upon had the Tigers really needed her, coach Jeff Thompson said, but there was no reason to risk the season at a non-conference meet.

Inniss should be back in the lineup tonight when the Tigers host LSU at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. The meet is set to begin at 7 p.m.

“I think it’s maybe because I’m getting older and my joints aren’t as good as they used to be,” said Inniss, a 19-year-old. “Both of my shoulders I have to keep a close watch on.”

Inniss dislocated her other shoulder last year as a freshman. On top of that, both her father and uncle have chronic shoulder problems, so “it might just be genetics,” Inniss said.

It’s a problem Inniss has had to deal with and work around, but it hasn’t stopped her from setting some lofty goals for her future at Auburn.

Thompson said Inniss approached him last week about possibly performing in the all-around next season. That would require Inniss to practice and perform regularly on the uneven bars — an event that puts nearly all the strain on a gymnast’s shoulders.

“Everything you do, you’re either hanging or supporting your weight with your shoulders,” Thompson said. “She’s an incredible athlete, so it’d be a huge asset for us if she could do all four events.”

For now, though, Thompson and Inniss take a day-by-day approach with her shoulders. If they’re tightening or flaring, Thompson will take it easy on her. If they’re good to go, which likely still includes a bit of pain, Inniss gets worked just like every other gymnast at the McWhorter Center.

“You want to be careful. You don’t want to give in when someone is just having a bad day because they’ll leave feeling defeated,” Thompson said. “But you don’t want to just keep pushing, pushing, pushing when it’s obvious that they’re not going to be able to do it.”

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