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Karli Kirk has been a top performer this season for the Becker gymnastics team. She is shown here earlier this season doing a handstand on the high bar (Submitted photo.)

Bulldog gymnasts keep improving

The Becker Bulldog gymnastics team continues to strengthen routines and put together solid performances, but the competition this past week was top notch as the team dropped a pair of M8 contests.

Vikings

Last Thursday, the team traveled to North Branch and lost by the slimmest of margins, 135.125 to 135.325.

The team started on bars and took three of the top five places.

“The team has been working hard to make upgrades in difficulty on this event, and sometimes there are a few hiccups along the way,” Coach Jen Harmoning said. “We are progressing in the right direction, though.”

Top finishers for Becker included Karli Kirk, Emma Hennessey and Alison Woodard, who finished second, third and fifth, respectively.

Harmoning said the team had some great vaults in the second rotation, with Hennessey, Kirk and Lauren Woelfel finishing third through fifth.

Floor was next, with the Bulldogs showing a solid level of consistency.

“We are continuing to work on maximizing our scoring potential here by increasing stamina and being able to perform the routines with tons of energy and expression,” Harmoning said. Becker finished second through fourth in this event, with nice performances from Bella Kuschel (8.825), Hennessey (8.75) and Woelfel (8.55).

The final event was balance beam and Harmoning called the team’s performance a “mixed bag.”

“In the end we had to count three falls in our team total, which is 1.5 points right off the top, plus additional points lost in the connection and bonus values you get when you stick the skills,” Harmoning said. “In the end, we just couldn’t overcome those losses to gain a win for the team.”

Woelfel finished in first with a 9.05, followed by Woodard’s fourth place score of 8.25

Becker did pick up second through fourth place in the all around with Hennessey, Woelfel and Kirk pacing the team.

Bluejackets

Monday night, Becker fell to Cambridge-Isanti 140.075 to 135.85.

“It felt great to be competing back in our home gym for Parents’ Night against Cambridge-Isanti,” Harmoning said. “We had a good competition, although we were not able to keep up with their strong difficulty on bars and beam.”

Becker scored a season high team total on vault, with Hennessey and Kirk sharing the top spot at the meet with scores of 9.325.  Lauren Woelfel posted a personal record at 8.85, while Lillian Bonsante and Hailey Deters rounded out Becker’s lineup with strong vaults.

On bars, the team ran into some speed bumps as Woodard was the only Bulldog to complete her routine without a major error.

Hennessey was the lone place holder, scoring fifth place (8.1).

Beam was next, and Woodard started the team off with what Harmoning called “a beautifully stuck routine.”  

“We really needed that after just finishing bars where we had had a lot of issues, and I’m proud of the way she helped turn the team around in that moment,” the coach said.

Woelfel, Hennessey and Woodard placed fourth through sixth, respectively.

In the final event, floor, the Bulldogs had five strong routines to finish on a high note, including event winner Hennessey, who placed first at 8.975, a personal record. Kuschel finished fourth, followed by Lillian Bonsante in fifth place.

In the all-around, Hennessey (3rd), Woelfel (4th) and Kirk (5th) led the team.

Correction

Last week, it was reported that the Bulldogs would compete on January 21 at the State True Team meet.  That meet is actually scheduled for Jan. 28.  The Patriot regrets this misinformation and will bring readers a full report in next week’s issue.