Britton-Hecla is one of eight teams to advance to the state gymnastics meet on team day this Friday beginning at 4:30 p.m. at Aberdeen Central High School.
The Lady Braves placed fourth in the Region 1A meet held in Milbank on Thursday and rank sixth in a tightlypacked field vying for the Class A state gymnastics title.
Defending champion Madison had the top regional score with 136.950 points, followed by Estelline-Hendricks at 136.075, Hot Springs 135.65, Deuel 135.400, Chamberlain 135.125, Britton-Hecla 133.325, Parkston-Ethan-Hanson-Mount Vernon 130.825, and Wagner-Bon Homme 127.425.
Madison has a total of 21 state championships in the history of the meet, while Deuel has claimed seven crowns. Either Madison or Deuel have won the Class A title the past 28 seasons. A year ago Britton-Hecla finished eighth.
“We had a solid day but didn’t fall into the placing where we would’ve liked to have been,” said B-H coach Angela Grupe. “Overall, it was a successful night and the team competed hard. We had a very strong performance on bars and were able to qualify all six of our girls. It’s been a while since we were able to advance the six-person limit per event to state on bars. We only counted one fall on beam but still have some room for improvement if we want to compete at state.”
With less than four points separating the top six state team qualifiers, the chase for a state title is wide open.
“I have so much strength and depth on this team,” added Grupe. “They are a great bunch of young ladies. The region scores came in very high, and I think state will have a different look to the scoring.”
Seven Britton-Hecla gymnasts have qualified to compete on individual day in Aberdeen on Saturday starting at 4:30 p.m., again at Aberdeen Central. Sterling Mertens and Kaegan Fredrickson lead the way by qualifying in all four events and the all-around competition. Maggie Kilker and Abby Lee will both compete in vault and bars, Kennady Van Lith qualified in bars and floor exercise, Emma Kraft in bars, and Ava Teveldal in floor exercise.
Mertens placed in all four regional events and was fourth all-around, taking fourth in vault, sixth on bars and floor, andninthonbeam. Fredrickson was fifth on beam, Kilker sixth in vault, and Lee 10th on bars.
Regional scoring was also used to determine Northeast Conference placers. Mertens was second in vault and bars, third in floor, fifth on beam, and second all-around. Frederickson took second on beam, seventh in vault, and fifth all-around; Kilker third in vault and seventh on bars; Lee fifth on bars and sixth in vault; Kraft sixth on bars; and Teveldal and Van Lith tied for seventh in floor exercise.
TEAM SCORES: Madison 136.950, Estelline-Hendricks 136.075, Deuel 135.400, Britton-Hecla 133.325, Milbank 123.325, West Central 121.475, Sisseton 118.375.
VAULT: 4. Sterling Mertens 9.050 6. Maggie Kilker 8.925; Abby Lee 8.775, Kaegan Fredrickson 8.675, McKenna Heer 8.250, Emma Kraft 8.050
UNEVEN BARS: 6. Mertens 8.350 10. Lee 7.950; Kraft 8.875, Kilker 7.825, Kennady Van Lith 7.600, Kaegan Fredrickson 7.550
BALANCE BEAM: 5. Fredrickson 8.350 9. Mertens 8.000; Ava Teveldal 7.450, Jaelee Grupe 7.400, Kilker 7.350, Kraft 5.875
FLOOR EXERCISE: 6. Mertens 9.100; Teveldal 8.550, Van Lith 8.550, Fredrickson 8.500, Kilker 8.275, Heer 7.600
ALL-AROUND: 4. Mertens 34.500; Fredrickson 33.075, Kilker 32.375
Britton-Hecla’s Ava Teveldal executed a vault in recent competition. The Lady Braves qualified for the state meet in Aberdeen on Friday and Saturday.
