Gymnastics takes 2nd in Farmington
Owatonna’s Kendra Miller backflips on the beam during the team’s second event of the MGJA Invitational last week. Miller successfully landed the flip and scored 8.900 points on the routine. Staff photo by Johnnie Phillips
Owatonna gymnastics took second place at the Farmington MGJA Invitational last weekend, falling just short of beating champions Lakeville South in a 146.250-145.600 battle.
The Huskies’ point total was the team’s highest of the season so far, and despite the encouraging performance, head coach Evan Moe knows that his team can achieve even more.
“I think this team has the drive and the experience at a state level in high-level meets. We don’t have kids that get really nervous. We definitely don’t have kids that are scared to compete. They love it. They love the competition, and I think you can see that in how they do their jobs and how they go out there and try to absolutely crush every single event. They’re not shaken. They’re not nervous. They’re just going out there trying to do their thing,” said Moe.
Owatonna began its day on the bars and amassed 34.35 points.
The Huskies were led by eighth-grader Delia Neumann in ninth place with a 9.000-point routine.
While the bars proved to be the most difficult event of the day for the Huskies, the team rebounded well to score 36.65 on the beam.
Halle Theis led all Huskies with a 9.350-point routine and was complimented by two 9.200-point performances from Delia Neumann and Averie Roush to go with Kendra Miller’s 8.900.
Owatonna benefitted from a strong showing on the floor with 36.45 points, but the Huskies still trailed the Cougars 107.45-109.5.
The Huskies had one more chance to erase the deficit when the team hit the vault for the final event.
Owatonna managed to put up 38.15 points on the vault right when the team needed it most; however, Lakeville South’s floor performances amassed 36.80 points to hold off the Huskies’ late push.
Theis, Emma Johnson, Jozie Johnson, and Johanna Spielman were all spectacular on the vault, with scores of 9.625, 9.600, 9.525, and 9.400, respectively.
Theis was also the team’s leading all-around athlete and took fourth place in the category with a final total of 36.975 points.
Her point total marked a personal best for the all-around competition, as well as personal best scores in the beam, floor and vault events.
Owatonna’s next competition will be held at Rochester Friedell Middle School on Friday, Jan. 12 at 6:30 p.m.