The Becker gymnastics team showed a great deal of consistency in its first two meets of the season, scoring a little over 126 points in both contests. While it wasn’t quite enough in the season opening loss January 22 at North Branch, it was enough to pick up the win January 26 versus Chisago Lakes. They then followed that up with a huge win in their home opener over Maple Lake.
Vikings
In the opener against the North Branch Vikings, Becker had a good opening match despite falling 126.125 to 131.175.
“With this being the first meet of the season and only two and a half weeks of practice, we went into this meet knowing we still had some work to do on endurance and getting our routines up to the difficulty level that we want,” said Coach Kayla Kalinowski. “Overall, there were some ups and downs along the way but we were happy to get those first meet jitters out of the way and continue to improve as the season progresses.”
The Bulldogs were operating at less than full strength in the meet, as two lineup regulars were dealing with minor injuries and did not compete. This led to many new gymnasts stepping up and competing at the varsity level for the first time.
“One gymnast that really showed us her mental toughness and ability to lead by example was 7th grader, Chloe Spear,” said Kalinowski. “In her very first varsity meet, she competed all-around and put up some great scores to start the season.”
Kalinowski also credited Riley Norberg with being a leader for the team, as she is working to regain her state-qualifying form from a year ago.
Becker scores and place finishes: Vault- Riley Norberg 8.95 (2nd), Tessa Maruska 8.45 (3rd), Sarah Woelfel 8.4 (5th); Bars: Sarah Woelfel 7.675 (3rd), Lauren Woelfel 7.4 (4th), Chloe Spear 7.15 (T5th); Beam: Riley Norberg 8.0 (3rd), Lauren Woelfel 7.775 (T5th); Floor: Riley Norberg and Chloe Spear 8.5 (T3rd).
Wildcats
In their second meet of the season last Tuesday, Becker came out on top over the Wildcats by a score of 126.85 to 121.15.
“There were many things that we improved upon at this meet,” said Kalinowski. “We had been working on paying more attention to details during this meet, and the gymnasts really seemed to dial in on the improvements we worked on in practice.”
Kalinowski pointed out that the gymnasts are still trying to figure out how to handle not being in their usual beginning of the season form. Staying healthy while still trying to push their routines has been a difficult mix to master during the early part of the season.
“A few highlights from this meet were Riley Norberg’s vault and floor, Lauren Woelfel’s beam, Chloe Spear’s floor, and Lauren Biegler stepping up as a 7th grader and starting off our beam rotation,” added the coach.
Becker scores and place finishes: Vault- Riley Norberg 9.25 (1st), Lauren Woelfel 8.375 (2nd), Sarah Woelfel 8.35 (4th); Bars: Sarah Woelfel 7.575 (2nd), Theresa Johnson 7.225 (3rd), Lauren Woelfel 7.225 (4th), Justine Vilmo 6.825 (5th); Beam: Lauren Woelfel 8.65 (1st), Riley Norberg 8.1 (3rd); Floor: Riley Norberg 8.775 (1st), Chloe Spear 8.375 (2nd), Sarah Woelfel 7.7 (4th), Tessa Maruska 7.675 (5th); All Around: Riley Norberg 32.35 (1st), Lauren Woelfel 31.525 (2nd), Sarah Woelfel 31.075 (3rd).
Irish
Tuesday night, Becker hosted Maple Lake and completely dominated the Irish, winning 134.275 to 126.45.
“The hard work in the gym these past few weeks is finally starting to all come together and it is showing in their scores,” said Kalinoswki. “We are excited as a coaching staff with the progress these girls have made, but we are still excited for the future as we know there is still so much more room to improve.”
Kalinowski said that Riley Norberg had a great meet and helped lead the team to a season high school, while the coaching staff was also happy that Cassie Larson was able to finally make her debut, as an injury had delayed her season.
“Chloe Spear didn’t let her age show as the 7th grader put together some beautiful routines to place in the top 3 on a few events,” added Kalinowski.
Becker scores- Vault: Riley Norberg 9.425 (1), Sarah Woelfel 8.85 (2), Tessa Maruska 8.75 (3); Bars: Riley Norberg 8.45 (1), Sarah Woelfel 7.95 (2), Lauren Woelfel (3); Beam: Lauren Woelfel 8.9 (1), Riley Norberg 8.8 (2), Chloe Spear 8.4 (4); Floor: Riley Norberg 8.8 (1), Chloe Spear 8.7 (2), Sarah Woelfel 8.35; All Around: Riley Norberg 35.45 (1), Lauren Woelfel 32.3 (2).
