The Britton-Hecla gymnastics team got a jump start on its season with an unscheduled season opener on Monday.
The Monday meet had originally been only a junior varsity event but due to a shortage of JV teams to fill the meet a varsity division was added.
“It worked out nice since we are down two meets this year,” said B-H coach Angela Grupe. “The meet was a nice starting point and definitely showed the girls where they need to keep working.”
Britton-Hecla won both the JV and varsity team titles. The varsity squad took all five top places in floor exercise, balance beam, and the uneven bars, and the top four spots in vault to roll past Sisseton 129.900 to 104.350, while the JV posted a 98.950-82.750 victory.
This week the local gymnasts will compete in the Hub City Invitational in Aberdeen on Saturday starting at 10 a.m. and Tuesday will host their annual holiday meet with Deuel, Milbank, Sisseton, and Aberdeen Central JV beginning at 6 p.m.
B-HseniorSterlingMertens came up with a dominant performance in the opener, taking first place in all four events and posting a 33.750 total to also earn all-around honors. Eighth grader Kennady Van Lith was second all-around with a 32.050 and placed second in floor and beam and fourth on bars.
Sophomore Abby Lee was third all-around with a 31.650 total and was second on bars and fourth in vault. Senior Kaegan Fredrickson was second in vault, third on bars, fourth in floor, and fifth on beam. Senior Emma Kraft was third in vault, fourth on beam, and fifth on bars, and junior McKenna Heer was third on beam and fifth in floor.
Ava Teveldal, a sophomore, sat out the opening meet with a sore back but Grupe hopes to have her back in the lineup soon.
In the junior varsity competition Jaelee Grupe won allaround honors with a 27.750 total, taking first in floor, second on bars, third on beam, and fifth in vault. Brynlee Schmieg was third all-around with a 24.200 total and won the vault, took third in floor, and was fifth on beam and bars. Allyn Lee was fourth in both floor and beam, Avalon Dinger second on beam and fifth in floor, and Marley Sundin was second in floor and third in vault.
“We have some work to do on vault and cleaning up beam and floor,” concluded Grupe. “but I have a good size roster with plenty of talent. It should be a competitive season.”
Saturday’s meet in Aberdeen will be a good indicator of where the Lady Braves stand in the early going.
“The Hub City Invite is a big meet with lots of big schools but a no-pressure meet for us,” said Grupe. “It gives us a chance to get our feet on the ground and see where we fall. The last five to 10 years the Class A and Class AA schools have become more and more similar and we can beat about the same number of AA schools as A schools.”
Eight Class AA schools are in the 11-team field including Mitchell, Pierre, Huron, Aberdeen Central, Sioux Falls O’Gorman, Harrisburg, Brookings, and Sioux Falls Washington. Other Class A schools in addition to the Lady Braves are Sisseton and Milbank Area.
VARSITY TEAM POINTS : Britton-Hecla 129.900, Sisseton 104.350
VAULT: 1. Sterling Mertens 8.95 2. Kaegan Fredrickson 8.80 3. Emma Kraft
8.70 4. Abby Lee 8.65; McKenna Heer 8.45, Kennady Van Lith 8.45
UNEVEN BARS: 1. Mertens 7.90 2. Lee 7.50 3. Fredrickson 7.25 4. Van Lith 7.20 5. Kraft 7.15; Heer 5.60
BALANCE BEAM: 1. Mertens 8.900 2. Van Lith 7.80 3. Heer 7.70 4. Kraft 7.55 5. Fredrickson 7.20; Lee 7.10
FLOOR EXERCISE: 1. Mertens 8.90 2. Van Lith 8.60 3. Lee 8.40 4. Fredrickson 8.00 5. Heer 7.95
ALL-AROUND: 1. Mertens 33.75 2. Van Lith 32.05 3. Lee 31.65; Fredrickson 31.35, Heer 29.70
JV TEAM POINTS: Britton-Hecla 98.850, Sisseton 82.750
VAULT: 1. Brynlee Schmieg 8.40 3. Marley Sundin 8.20 5. Jaelee Grupe 8.05; Avalon Dinger 7.75, Ailyn Lee 7.30
UNEVEN BARS : 2. Grupe 5.35 5. Schmieg 2.35; Dinger 2.15, Sundin 1.30, Kaylee Carlson 0.95
BALANCE BEAM: 2. Dinger 6.75 3. Grupe 6.45 4. Lee 6.20 5. Schmieg 6.05; Sundin 5.20
FLOOR EXERCISE: 1. Grupe 7.90 2. Sundin 7.50 3. Schmieg 7.40 4. Lee 7.05 5. Dinger 6.65
ALL-AROUND : 1. Grupe 27.75 3. Schmieg 24.20; Dinger 23.30, Sundin 22.20
