The Becker Bulldog girls gymnastics team captured another section title last weekend, beating out nine other teams in the Section 7A team tournament in Sauk Rapids.
With the win, the Bulldogs competed Friday morning for a state team title, while five Bulldog athletes will be competing Saturday morning to win individual titles.
Floor Exercise
Becker started last weekend’s meet on floor.
Miranda O’Brien was Becker’s first gymnast on floor and she was able to do a great job. Unfortunately, she must have had too much adrenaline as she “over-cooked” her first tumbling pass, resulting in a fall.
Hannah Schmidt competed for the first time in weeks since spraining her ankle earlier in the season. Her landings were a bit tentative, but she turned in a solid routine.
Haley Hubbard went last and gave her usual superb performance and the result was a good score (9.45).
Eight rotations later, Hubbard had qualified for state.
Floor results:
Qualifying for state individually: 1). Hubbard, Becker, 9.45; 2). Keeley Ertl, North Branch; Cassie Knick, Big Lake; Madison Flaherty, Sartell all tied at 9.4.
Becker gymnasts: 7). Schmidt, 9.1; 17). Kylee Pudas, 8.9; 20). Kassidy Severson, 8.85; 24). O'Brien, 8.6.
Vault Exercise
Becker’s second event was vault and Pudas started the team off with good vaults, but had to touch her hands down on the mat for a three-tenth deduction. She still earned a personal best score with this new (for her) vault.
Haley Olsen followed with a personal best 9.3 and O'Brien had a strong couple of vaults as well. Katie Wilke then hit her own personal best vault. Hannah Schmidt went last and it was obvious the landing really hurt her sprained ankle, but she managed to stand strong to give the Bulldogs another good score.
Becker scored a season best team score of 37.35.
Vault Results:
Qualifying for state individually; 1). Wilke, Becker, 9.525; 2). Ertl, North Branch, 9.525; 3). Abby Weber, Sartell, 9.5; 4). Rachel Haider, Sartell, 9.375.
Becker gymnasts: 8). O'Brien, 9.325; 11). Haley Olsen, 9.3; 15). Schmidt, 9.2; 21). Pudas, 8.725.
Bars Exercise
On bars, Haley Olsen, Becker’s anchor and usually highest scorer, released the bar just a little too early on her dismount and ended up missing the landing. The team felt so badly for her because they knew how much she was hoping to qualify for state on her favorite event.
“My heart broke for her, but she got up with a smile on her face and kept a positive attitude going,” said Harmoning. “She's a real team player.”
Bars Results:
Qualifying for state individually; 1). Weber, Sartell, 9.375; 2). Mallary Dick, Big Lake, 8.925; 3). Louden, Becker, 8.9; 4). Madison Flaherty, Sartell, 8.65.
Becker gymnasts: 6). Schmidt, 8.6; 7). Pudas, 8.55; 13). Haley Olsen, 8.375; 16). O'Brien, 8.25.
Beam Exercise
Becker’s final event was beam and beam has been a tough event for them all season. However, the team showed what strong competitors they could be and really did a great job.
Becker’s first three competitors all hit no-fall routines for their best scores of the season. The team’s final two competitors had only one fall each. This meant Becker only had to count one fall in their team total, which gave them a season high team total of 36.05.
Beam Results:
Qualifying for state individually; 1). Lindsay Olsen, Becker, 9.425; 2). Flaherty, Sartell, 9.325; 3). Louden, Becker, 9.25; 4). Kennedy Bianca, Monticello, 9.1.
Becker gymnasts: 7). Schmidt, 8.775; 10). Wilke, 8.6; 21). O'Brien, 8.25.
All-Around Results:
Qualifying for state individually: 1). Weber, Sartell, 36.85; 2). Flaherty, Sartell, 36.725; 3).. Ertl, North Branch, 36.225; 4). Schmidt, Becker, 35.675.
Section 7A Team Results: 1). Becker, 144.125; 2). Sartell, 142.0; 3). North Branch, 141.3; 4). Monticello, 138.45; 5). RPHF, 137.625; 6). Big Lake, 136.9; 7). Chisago Lakes, 125.275; 8). Sauk Rapids, 122.725; 9). Princeton, 121.25; 10). Zimmerman, 116.725.
The state tournament started Friday (team) and continues Saturday (individual) beginning at 11 a.m. both days at the University of MN Women's Sports Pavilion.
