The Becker Bulldog girls gymnastics team captured the Granite Ridge Conference championship last Saturday at Maple Lake High School. The Bulldogs scored a season-high of 144.875 to take first over Rush City/Pine City/Hinckley-Finlayson.
Vault Exercise
The team set a season-high team total on vault of 37.275. Miranda O'Brien competed a layout tsukahara and scored a 9.7 to set a new school record. (The previous record was 9.625 held by Autumn Robinson from the 2011 state tournament.)
O’Brien is currently the eighth best vaulter in the state with an average of 9.7 while Olsen is 19th with an average of 9.5.
Vault results: 1). O'Brien, 9.7; 2). Gracie Elsenpeter, Maple Lake, 9.5; 3). Elsie Lundquist, RPHF, 9.475; 4). Lindsay Olsen, Becker, 9.425; 5). Katie Wilke, Becker, 9.1; 7). Kassidy Severson, Becker, 9.05; 15). Haley Hubbard, Becker, 8.65.
Bars Exercise
The Bulldogs had a “decent day on bars, but it wasn't stellar,” said Head Coach Jen Harmoning.
“We had to count one fall and a couple of our routines were not as well-performed as usual,” she said.
Marlee Louden turned in one of her best routines of the season to anchor the team with a strong score of 8.9 that took first place on the event.
Bars results: 1). Louden, 8.9; 2). Elsenpeter, ML, 8.75; 3). O'Brien, 8.725; 4). Emi Quill, Becker, 8.6; 5-tie). Livia Isackson-Rod, RPHF and Neveah Isackson-Rod, RPHF, 8.35;; 7). Aubree Lahr, Becker, 8.325; 8). Olsen, Becker, 7.85.
Beam Exercise
“Again, we had an okay day on beam, but it was not nearly one of our very best,” said Harmoning.
Louden was the exception with her fabulous “hit” routine that scored 9.325, a personal best score for her, and first place on the event. Katie Wilke also had a very good routine.
O’Brien took second with a 9.0 and is currently the fourth best beam gymnast in the state with an average of 9.65.
Beam results: 1). Louden, 9.325; 2). O'Brien, 9.0; 3). Wilke, 8.825; 4). L. Isackson-Rod, RPHF, 8.775; 5). N. Isackson-Rod, RPHF, 8.675; 6). Hubbard, 8.6; 7). Olsen, 8.525.
Floor Exercise
Becker was able to finish up the day on floor, and they really put on a show performing their routines.
Aubree Lahr's music was skipping around and then quit completely while she was performing, but she continued doing her routine as if nothing had happened and ended up scoring one of her best this season at 9.1.
“I don't wish that to happen to anybody, but I'm glad it was a senior who knew to continue and not let it bother her,” said Harmoning. “She definitely provided a good learning experience for all of the younger JV kids watching her.”
Hubbard gave a really great performance and earned a 9.575, which is a personal best score for her. She currently sits in 16th place among all state floor performers with an average score of 9.575.
Floor results: 1). Hubbard, 9.575; 2). Elsie Lundquist, RPHF, 9.375; 3). Olsen, 9.325; 4). O'Brien, 9.3; 5). Elsenpeter, ML, 9.2; 6). L. Isackson-Rod, RPHF, 9.15; 7). Lahr, 9.1’ 8). Kassidy Severson, Becker, 9.0.
All-Around
O'Brien and Olsen took the top two places in the all-around, scoring 36.725 and 35.125 respectively.
Varsity results: 1). Becker, 144.875; 2). RPHF, 137.225; 3). Maple Lake, 128.275; 4). HLWWHT, 124.275; 5). Paynesville, 121.1; 6). Little Falls, 109.85.
Junior Varsity
The junior varsity team also crushed the competition and came out JV champs.
Amelia Kirchner won the all-around scoring 32.2. She was also second on beam and floor and fifth on bars.
Sarah Woelfel took second place in the all-around, second on vault and sixth on bars.
Becker gymnasts took first place on all events. Keeley Holm took first on vault (8.95), Lexi Michels on bars (8.65), Kassidy Severson on beam (8.3) and Emi Quill on floor (8.55). The six JV gymnasts who competed bars for the Bulldogs took the top six places on that event.
JV results: 1). Becker, 132.75; 2). RPHF, 120.45; 3). HLWWHT, 111.75; 4). Maple Lake, 110.9; 5). Paynesville, 44.4 (did not field a full team); 6). Little Falls, 10.6 (did not field a full team).
Up Next
Today (Saturday), Becker is competing in the Section 7A Tournament beginning at noon at Big Lake High School.
“We would really appreciate a lot of fans in the stands to support us,” said Harmoning. “Section 7A is perhaps the deepest of all sections. We have six teams ranked in the top 25 Class A schools in the state, and we have five teams that have scored over 140 points at meets this season.”
Harmoning is sure the competition will be a tough battle and will probably come down to a narrow victory between the top three (current rankings) schools of Becker, North Branch, and Sartell.
