The Becker gymnastics team had a successful Saturday, as they competed and took third in the Big Lake Hornet Classic Invitational. Becker finished with 136.65 points, while the Hornets won the event with a score of 144.75.

“We were extremely proud to take third place at this invitational,” Coach Jen Harmoning said. “It was a little bit like a preview of the Section 7A championships with some other fantastic teams mixed in. We were able to put together a solid score despite dealing with adversity, and placed second among all the section 7A teams.”

Becker started with a strong team performance on the vault, despite missing usual stellar performer Lauren Woelfel.

“Emma Hennessey and Karli Kirk both hit two of their best vaults of the season to score 9.3 and 9.25, respectively, placing them fifth and sixth on the event,” Harmoning said.  Lillian Bonsante (8.65), Bella Kuschel (8.5), and Hailey Duncombe (8.4) all contributed solid vaults for the Bulldogs. 

The team continued its momentum next on the bars, where Hennessey (9.05) and Kirk (8.6) led the charge to place third and ninth, respectively.  

“The whole team of eight hit every routine and also stuck their dismounts,” Harmoning added, explaining that their feet didn’t move when they landed their final flip off the bar.  “This was a huge highlight for us to hit 8-for-8.”

Woelfel (7.9), Cassie Larson (7.85) and Woodard (7.6) rounded out the Becker scoring.

Next, the balance beam proved to be a bit of a hiccup for the Bulldogs, as some great routines were mixed in with some falls.  Harmoning noted that the girls were coming off the Holiday break and also missed several practices due to weather cancellations.

“We are confident that this consistency will come around as we continue into the season,” Harmoning said. “It was also hard not to be able to rely on Woelfel’s usual steady performance on this event, but Kirk and Hennessey really stepped up their games for the third event in a row.”

This time it was Kirk who took the top spot for the team, scoring a personal record 9.2 which took second place in the meet. Hennessey’s stellar 8.9 was good enough for fifth place of all competitors, followed by Larson (7.5), Kuschel (7.35), and Woodard (6.45).

The final rotation was the floor exercise and Harmoning said she was very happy with the routines.

“Bella Kuschel has really been starting to shine on this event,” Harmoning said. “It was fun watching her hit a great routine for a score of 8.9.”  

Hennessey was next with (8.8), followed by Hailey Duncombe (8.75) - both personal records.

Lillian Bonsante (8.1) and Kirk (8.05) were the final Becker scores.

In the all around, Hennessey grabbed third place in the field of some really amazing competitors with a personal record score of 36.05.  

“She worked really hard all off-season and has been putting in so much effort every day in the gym,” Harmoning said. “Despite being only a freshman and a newcomer to the high school team, Kirk has been contributing really strong scores for us meet after meet as well. She also earned a personal record all-around score of 35.1, which gave her seventh place in the meet.”

Exhibition scores: vault : 8.45 Hailey Deters, 8.15 Sofia Bonsante, 8.0 Alison Woodard; bars: 7.35 S. Bonsante, 7.1 Kuschel, 7.0 Duncombe; beam: 7.55 Sabrina Jensen, 7.0 Lauren Biegler, 6.6 S. Bonsante; floor: 8.9 Larson, 8.0 Woodard, 8.0 S. Bonsante.

Tigers

Last Thursday, Becker dominated the Princeton Tigers in a M8 meet, winning 136.775 to 120.525.

“We knew that we have some scoring advantages over Princeton, so our goal was to compete well and try to continue to give strong consistent performances,” Harmoning said. “The girls had been working over break to learn some new skills to add to their routines, and it was fun to be able to try some of those at this meet.”

Becker swept the top five places on the bars: 1- Hennessey 8.825, 2-Kirk 8.425, 3- (Tie) Lauren Woelfel and Cassie Larson 8.1, 5- Alison Woodard 7.8) before the Bulldogs turned to the vault.

“Woelfel has been battling a leg injury and it seemed to take a quick turn for the worse,” Harmoning said. “We decided it would be better to sit her out on vault than risk further injury, so Hailey Duncombe stepped in and competed her vault without getting a chance at the touch warm-up.  She did great for the team and tied for fifth place.”

Vault scores: Hennessey (1 - 9.3), Kirk (2 - 8.95), L. Bonsante (3 - 8.475), Duncombe and Kuschel (tie - 5 - 8.3).

Floor scores: Kuschel  (1-8.75), Hennessey (2-8.6), Woelfel (3-8.525), Kirk (5- 8.4) and L. Bonsante (6- 8.2).

Beam scores: Hennessey and Larson (tie 1st) 8.775, Kuschel (3- 8.275), Woodard (4- 8.2) and Kirk (6- 7.725).

Hennessey and Kirk took the top two places in the all-around once again scoring 35.5 and 33.5 respectively.