The Becker Bulldog gymnastics team had two gymnasts advance to state last year.

 

This year they hope to at least double that.

 

Hannah Schmidt and Haley Hubbard competed at the state tournament last February at the University of Minnesota and had fun, did well and gained valuable experience.  This year, Schmidt (captain) and Hubbard — along with Montanna Edling (captain) and Megan Murphy (captain) — all have goals to make state individually, but are most interested in getting the entire team to the grander stage.

 

“I think we are going to do really well,” said Megan. “Lots of these girls are moving up and new talent is emerging. It’s gonna be a great year.”

 

Schmidt and Edling agree.

 

“I think with the new talent. we’ll all just end up feeding off each other and getting better each and every day,” said Hannah.

 

“I feel like we’ll definitely win the conference and sections this year and go to state,” said Edling confidently. “We have a lot of young girls that have improved so much and with the older girls I think we have a really good mix.”

 

Head Coach Jen Harmoning is feeling very confident about the team as well as she is juggling a much larger group of athletes than she’s ever had to deal with in her many years of coaching.

“We have a fabulous new group of kids that have come up from the youth programs and we also have a strong group of seventh and eighth graders,” she said. “It’s a great situation to have, it’s just not something we are used to. It should be fun though.”

 

The team begins the season Dec. 2 at home against Princeton before hosting the Bulldog Clinic Invitational today (Saturday).

 

“We are expecting ourselves to do very well this year,” said Harmoning. “We are planning to win the conference again and our larger goals are to win sections and medal at state.”

 

Edling, Schmidt and Murphy will be looked upon by the younger girls for guidance in how not only to improve their skills on the floor and apparatuses, but how they present themselves to the judges before and after their routines.

 

“As a captain, I want to help lead the team to state and I know we can get there if we have positive attitudes,” Murphy says.

 

“We — as captains — want to lead by being positive on the floor and off and set a good example for the girls to follow,” said Schmidt. “We need to show them how to work hard and have a good work ethic every day.”

 

“I’ve been on the team since the seventh grade so I’ve seen a lot of good captains come and go and I think I’ve learned a lot from them,” says Edling. “I’m a fun person so I feel I can keep the girls loose and we can all have a fun year and go far.”

 

The girls are also excited to finally have a nice, sprawling training facility as they take over the space once occupied by the swim team.

 

“We are super excited to be in here,” said Harmoning. “We just love it. We finally have a place we can call our own and it is probably one of the best training facilities in the entire area.

 

Harmoning has new coaches this year as former Bulldog gymnast Kelly McCall returns to lend her expertise and former Big Lake spotter Jesse Wiley brings his knowledge and skillfulness to the squad.

 

“Jesse is the best spotter I’ve ever seen and the girls like working with him,” said Harmoning. “They already trust him and that trust is key to the girls’ success.”

 

“Kelly is extremely knowledgeable about the sport  and she has stepped right in and has taken over with no issues,” said the head coach. “It’s been a really good transition.”

 

Harmoning is especially proud of how unselfish her girls are this year.

 

“They all have been so good with where they’ll compete and they all are on board to do their best to get this team to state,” Harmoning said.

 

Harmoning has nine returning letterwinners and has at least six newcomers who have lots of experience competing at high levels.

 

The team consists of junior Montanna Edling, sophomore Haley Hubbard, sophomore Aubree Lahr, eighth-grader Marlee Louden, junior Chloe Madsen, sophomore Lexi Michels, senior Megan Murphy, eighth-grader Miranda O’Brien, eighth-grader Nicole O’Brien, junior Haley Olsen, freshman Lindsay Olsen, eighth-grader Kylee Pudas, junior Lexi Reichle, junior Hannah Schmidt, sophomore Kassidy Severson, Maddie Janssen, Katie Conrad, Callie Doucette, Michelle Johnson, Anne Nikolov, Mackensie Cota and Shalyn Quernemoen.

 

Over the years, the battle in section play has usually come down to either Becker or Big Lake — and it’ll probably be much of the same this year as both teams vie for that coveted trip to state.

The Section 7A tournament is in Sartell this year on Sat., Feb. 14 at noon.

 

 

In Becker’s first gymnastics meet of the year, the Bulldogs dispatched the Tigers of Princeton by 21 points Tuesday night.

 

“This was a really exciting night for us, not only because it was the first meet of the season, but it was also our first meet in our new location,” said Harmoning.  “We are so excited to be in our new place!”  

 

Harmoning said her girls were pretty nervous Tuesday, especially those who were competing on the high school team for the first time.  

 

“They showed me what great competitors they are, though, because they really stepped it up in comparison to how their routines were looking during practice,” she said.  

 

Becker got off to a strong start on vault.  Hannah Schmidt and Haley Hubbard were the only two vaulters who also competed varsity vault last season.  Miranda O'Brien, Lindsay Olsen and Kassidy Severson showed that they will be great new additions to the line-up.  

 

Miranda O’Brien topped all vaulters with a 9.3 score. She was followed by Schmidt (9.25) and Lindsay Olsen (9.125), Severson (8.9). 

 

One of the events the head coach was most pleased with (and relieved) was bars.  

 

“Bars is a really tough event.  So many of the girls on the team have been working so hard on making some upgrades, but it has been really last-minute on trying to figure out which skills are ready to compete,” she said.  

 

Schmidt topped all gymnasts with an 8.55 score on bars. She was followed by Haley Olsen (8.4), Marlee Louden (8.35), Lindsay Olsen (7.8) and Hubbard (7.275).

 

Beam was a little shaky for the Bulldogs but Harmoning said she saw a lot of really great things to build upon.

 

Schmidt was the top beamer with an 8.9 score. She was followed by Miranda O’Brien (8.8), Lindsay Olsen (8.675) and Lexi Reichle (8.175).

 

“Competing floor is always a lot of fun for our team,” said the head coach.  “We have a great mix of experienced performers in Schmidt, Hubbard and Montanna Edling, plus some new young little tumblers.”  

 

Schmidt topped all others on floor with an impressive 9.05 score. next was Hubbard (8.9), Miranda O’Brien (8.850), Kylee Pudas (8.75) and Montanna Edling (8.725).

 

Schmidt won the all-around with her personal best score of 35.750.  She was followed by Hubbard at 24.725, Miranda O’Brien at 26.950 and Lindsay Olsen at 25.600.

 

“To earn a personal best all-around score at the first meet is not usual and it shows just how hard she has worked during the off-season,” said Harmoning.