The Becker girls gymnastics team headed to state this week after winning their section tournament last Saturday.
The Bulldogs competed last weekend in Sartell and squeaked out a win and an advancement to the state championships by beating Big Lake by 1.25 points and Sartell by 1.825.
The girls competed Friday (team) and Saturday (individual) at the University of Minnesota Sports Pavillion. Both days they begin competition at 11 a.m.
Four Bulldog gymnasts will also compete in individual competition at state including Miranda O’Brien (vault), Haley Olsen (uneven bars), Megan Murphy (beam) and Lindsay Olsen (beam and floor).
Floor Exercise
Becker began last Saturday’s section tournament on floor and it was not the start Coach Jen Harmoning was hoping for.
“We had three great routines, one with some minor mishaps and one with a fall,” she said. “This was the only event in which we did not score a team season high score.”
After the rotation, Harmoning gathered the team together and reminded them that there are four events to the meet and floor was just one of them. She knew her athletes could still be in the running to win if they stayed strong through their other events.
And they did just that.
Floor Scores:
4). Lindsay Olsen, 9.175 (advancement to state); 6). Haley Hubbard, 9.075; Miranda O'Brien, 8.875; Hannah Schmidt, 8.65 and Kylee Pudas, 8.575.
Vault Exercise
“Vault was our second event and this is where we really capitalized,” said Harmoning. “Our strength on this event is really what gave us the win.”
And it showed as the Bulldogs scored a season-high team total of 37.35 — almost a point higher than any other team.
Vault Scores:
4). Miranda O'Brien, 9.475 - personal best (advancement to state; 4). (tied but lost the tiebreaker) Hannah Schmidt, 9.475; 6). Lindsay Olsen, 9.35; Haley Olsen, 9.05 - personal best; Hubbard, 8.9.
“It was heart-breaking to see Hannah (Schmidt) get ousted from the individual vault competition at state,” said Harmoning. “In my opinion, her vault was the best one of the day. It's just too bad that kids who tie for fourth place don't both get to go to state.”
Uneven Bars Exercise
Bars was a good performance for the Bulldogs, but the head coach said it was not their best.
“One of our usual top routines had a fall, but we had four others hit their routines, so we still had a strong team result,” she said. “In fact, we scored another team-high for the season.”
Bars Scores:
2). (tie for second place) Haley Olsen, personal best 9.1 (advancement to state); 5). Hannah Schmidt, 8.675; 8). Marlee Louden, 8.625; Hubbard, 8.275; Lindsay Olsen, 7.85.
Beam Exercise
The team finished the day on beam which Harmoning says can be difficult, especially when the meet is so close.
“We knew we had to stay focused and calm,” she said. “I was very proud of how well the team did just that.”
Despite two falls, all five Becker girls had good routines and the team only had to count one of those falls.
“We definitely fared much better on beam than any of the other teams at the meet,” said Harmoning. “Beam was the destroyer that day. We were ecstatic to be the highest scoring team (and another season high for us) on beam that day. Everyone in gymnastics knows that beam is the ‘make or break’ event.”
Beam Scores:
3). Megan Murphy, 8.95 (advancement to state); 4). Lindsay Olsen, 8.925 (advancement to state); 6). (tie) Marlee Louden, 8.7; Schmidt, 8.45; Miranda O'Brien, 8.45.
All-Around Scores:
5). Lindsay Olsen, 35.3; 6). Schmidt, 35.25.
Team Scores:
1). Becker, 142.825; 2). Big Lake, 141.575; 3). Sartell, 141.0; 4). Monticello, 136.15; 5). Annandale, 129.9; 6). Maple Lake, 129.025; 7). Sauk Rapids, 123.975; 8). Princeton, 122.875; 9). HLWW, 122.05; 10). Zimmerman, 61.825.
