It was a clean sweep for the Becker Bulldog varsity and JV gymnasts last Saturday, as both teams picked up the victories at the Annandale Holiday Invitational.

For the Bulldogs, the competition was a chance to get the team back to nearly full strength, after some key participants have been battling injuries and sickness in the past week.

“We were excited to be back competing with an almost full strength team after a week of multiple gymnasts being out sick or injured,” Coach Kayla Kalinowski said. “We are looking forward to continuing to work on upgrading our routines as we head into winter break and look to make a strong run into the post-season this year.”

Two Bulldogs led the way in the all around, with Riley Norberg and Emma Hennessey fishing second and third, respectively, to give Becker the advantage.

“Norberg (35.6) and Hennessey (33.15) each had multiple top 5 finishes during the competition,” Kalinowski added.

As a team, the Bulldogs finished with 135.55 points, handily defeating the second place STMA Knights (130.95). The Delano Tigers finished in third place with 126.65 points, while the host Cardinals finished with 114.9.

Norberg was the floor champion with a 9.25 as well as finishing second on vault, thrid on bars, and second on beam. Hennessey finished fifth on vault and fourth on floor.  

Sarah Woelfel had a strong performance on the day with a fourth place finish on vault, fifth place finish on bars, and fifth place finish on beam. Lauren Woelfel with a second place finish on bars and third place finish on beam and Theresa Johnson had a fourth place finish in the all-around.  

In the JV competition, Bella Kuschel (31.45) and Hailey Duncombe (30.35) led the way with a first and second place finish, respectively, in the all-around. Kuschel was the floor co-champion with an 8.45, and also the beam champion with an 8.0 (fourth on vault and bars). Duncombe finished third on bars and beam, and fifth on floor. Other individual medalists for the Bulldogs included Justine Vilmo and Sofia Bonsante, finishing first and second on vault, respectively, and Cassie Larson finishing second on bars in her season debut. Bonsante finished fourth on beam, and Hailey Deters tied Kuschel for the floor title with an 8.45.   

JV team scores: Becker 123.35, STMA 120.0, Annandale 100.7 and Delano 88.65.