Watertown-Mayer/Mound Westonka to defend team title at Gymnastics State Meet

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. --- The Girls Gymnastics State Meet is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, February 18-19 at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul. Here is a look at the meet:

Class A preview

Watertown-Mayer/Mound Westonka returns to defend its team title. Four additional teams that competed last year also return: Mankato West (third), New London-Spicer (fifth), Worthington (sixth) and Big Lake (seventh).

Seventeen of 30 event medal-winners will return for the 2022 Class A individual competition. A new champion will emerge in every event except the balance beam.

Anna Mielke of Watertown-Mayer/Mound Westonka is the highest returning qualifier on the vault; she is looking to improve on last year’s runner-up showing. Mielke will be joined by three other medal-winners: Avery McAllister of Perham/New York Mills (third), Riley Norberg of Becker (fifth), and Britney Krumrei of Big Lake (sixth).  

Five medalists from 2021 return on the uneven bars: Reagan Kelley of Watertown-Mayer/Mound Westonka (runner-up), Jenna Sikel of Mankato West (third), Claudia Stipe of Chisago Lakes (fifth), Courtney Althaus of Melrose Area (sixth in Class A), and Abbey Busch of Mahtomedi (sixth in Class AA).

Libby McGeary of Benson/KMS is the only defending champion in the Class A field. She is looking to repeat on the balance beam. She will be joined by two additional 2021 medalists: Amber Roble of Byron (runner-up) and Ciera Anderson of New London-Spicer (fourth).

Mielke also returns in the floor exercise, looking to improve on last year’s third-place showing. She will be joined by Krumrei (sixth).

Mielke and Krumrei will also meet in the all-around competition. Mielke was the runner-up last year and Krumrei was fifth. Kelley, who placed sixth last year, also returns.

Class AA preview

Owatonna is the highest returning team; the Huskies earned third-place honors in 2021. Four other teams return from last year’s field: Stillwater Area (fifth), New Prague (sixth), Elk River/Zimmerman (seventh) and Wayzata (eighth). The defending champions from Sartell failed to qualify for this year’s team event.

Ten of 30 event medal-winners in 2021 will return for 2022 Class AA individual competition. A new champion will emerge in every event this year.

Madysen Schmidt of Bemidji and Julia Clark of Mounds View/Irondale are the only returnees in the floor exercise. They placed fifth and sixth, respectively, last year.

Last year’s fourth-place finisher, Ashley Peterson of Stillwater Area, is the only returning medalist on the uneven bars.

Three medal-winners return on the balance beam: Kaitlyn Cobban of Owatonna (runner-up), Kaitlyn Nguyen of Lakeville North (fourth), and Taylar Schaefer of St. Cloud Tech (fifth).

Two medalists return from last year’s vault field: Schaefer (third) and Lauren Berg of Bemidji (fifth).

Nguyen, who claimed fifth-place honors in 2021, is the highest returning qualifier in the all-around. She will be joined by Schaefer (sixth).

For past tournament results and historical information, please visit bit.ly/21GymArchive.

FAST FACTS

The schedule:

Team Competition: Friday, February 18 – Class A, 11 a.m.; Class AA, 6 p.m.

Individual Competition: Saturday, February 19 – Class A 11 a.m., Class AA 6 p.m.

• Streaming: School Space Media will livestream the team and individual events. Find the stream at www.prepspotlight.tv.
• Tickets: Must be purchased online at www.mshsl.org/tickets. Tickets are$15.00 per session for adults and $10.00 per session for students.
• Online Program: The program will be posted here: https://www.mshsl.org/state-tournament-programs-2021-2022.
• Results: Posted at https://www.mshsl.org/sports-and-activities/gymnastics-girls
• Social media: Follow the tournament on the League’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @MSHSL and @MSHSLjohn.