Becker’s Riley Norberg competed at the State Class A Gymnastics Meet last week and came away with a fifth place medal in the vault competition for her efforts.

The meet was held in two sessions with four teams each in order to limit attendance, and then the scores from both were used to determine overall place winners.

Becker’s section competed at Champlin Park High School in the first of two sessions and Norberg didn’t hold anything back, even trying a new vault at the competition.

“Riley went into the meet with big plans of throwing a new vault she has been working on and we knew being in the early session that it would take a big score to stay in medal contention through both sessions,” said coach Kayla Kalinowski.  “Riley worked hard to make that happen and hit two beautiful vaults at the state meet and scored a 9.525.”

Norberg’s score was good enough for second place in the first session and after the second session she was able to land a medal by finishing in fifth place overall.

“While we were sad to not be able to see her up on the awards stand at the conclusion of the meet, she celebrated at home during the virtual awards ceremony,” added Kalinowski.   “We were so proud of Riley and her determination and work ethic this season, and to be able to compete a new vault at the state tournament and medal with all of the changes this season truly shows how mentally and physically strong she is.”

Sections

Becker’s entire team performed well at the Section meet, held on March 20 in Big Lake.

“Our team was ecstatic to be in the night session of the meet and to be ranked in the top four teams in the section,” said Kalinowski.  “We went in to the meet with a ‘nothing to lose’ mentality and had been working super hard in practice leading up to state to add in the last finishing touches to our routines.”

Kalinowski said the team kept a small, but strong roster of eight gymnasts on the section roster, including Juniors Riley Norberg, Sarah Woelfel, Theresa Johnson, Justine Vilmo and Tessa Maruska.  Freshman Lauren Woelfel and seventh graders Chloe Spear and Lauren Biegler rounded out the section team.

“These girls pushed each other all week and came into sections ready to have a great meet,” added Kalinowski.

Becker started on the floor exercise and produced its strongest showing of the year, with Lauren Woelfel and Norberg getting season high scores of 9.075 and 9.1, respectively.

Next, the Bulldogs went straight to the vault and did well despite not having any rest in between events.

“It was a little crazy going straight from floor to vault with no bye in between like normal years, but the girls handled it well,” said the coach.  “Sarah Woelfel finished in the top 10 with an 8.95 and Norberg finished second, advancing to the state meet, with a 9.35.”

The next event was the bars and the Bulldogs suffered a few too many missed connections, stops and falls that Kalinowski said led to lower than anticipated scores.  Sarah Woelfel led the team with a 7.95 score.

Becker ended the meet on the beam and Kalinowski says the coaches were very happy with the results, especially those of the younger athletes.

“Our young seventh graders handled the pressure like champs,” said Kalinowski. “Lauren Biegler led us off with a great stick routine to set the tone for the meet, while [classmate] Chloe Spear stuck her routine and is looking to be a force to reckon with in the future.”

Norberg closed out the meet for Becker with a solid beam routine and an 8.725, good enough for a ninth place finish. 

Overall, the team finished in fourth place with a 134.475 and because they ended the season on a high note, the coach is already looking forward to great things from her team during its next season.

“We can’t help but look to the future with excitement as we have no graduating seniors and a ton of talent ready to fight for those top spots,” said Kalinowski.