Milbank Gymnasts Hit Season Best

The Lady Bulldogs gymnastics team hit their highest score of the season at the Watertown Invitational meet January 21. The team tallied 128.775 points “This was a great meet for the team,” stated Bulldog Gymnastics Head Coach Amber Fraasch. “We hit most of our routines and are showing more consistency. This is what we want to see as we move into the final three weeks of the season.”

Milbank finished eighth in the team standings. Watertown won the meet with a 144.325. Mitchell was second with a 143 and Madison took third at 140.275. “The teams at this meet were extremely strong and included the top four Class A teams and most of the top AA teams in the state,” Fraasch stated. “Placing individually in the top 20 at this meet is a great accomplishment.”

All three of Milbank’s all-around competitors earned a top-20 finish. Brooke Fraasch led the Lady Bulldogs with a personal best score of 33.025 and placed fourteenth. Mackenzie Weinkauf placed seventeenth with a 32.20, and Jodi DeVaal was eighteenth at 31.775.

During the floor exercises, Weinkauf’s performance merited a season best score of 8.825 and tied for twenty-fourth place. Brooke Fraasch tied her personal best score of 8.65, which was her second state qualifying mark of the season. Jodi DeVaal also recorded her personal best score of 8.6 for her first state qualifying score for that event.

“If the floor scores were high, the vault scores were a bit low,” Fraasch said. “We were down over a full point from our meet just four days prior.” Weinkauf was the top scorer for Milbank with a 8.475. She tied for nineteenth place.

“In the uneven parallel bars, the team recorded a season high of 30.075 points. The bar team was led by Brooke Fraasch at twenty-second place and a score of 8.025. Greta Snaza had a personal best score of 7.5. It landed her in thirty-second place.

Fraasch said, “Even though we placed eighth overall in total team points, we placed sixth in the beam event. Our beam has continued to get better over the course of the season. We had three no-fall routines from Brooke, Jodi, and Dani Yamaura and only two falls total. Having to count only one fall makes a big difference in the final team score.” Brooke placed seventeenth in the event with an 8.075. Yamaura earned nineteenth place with a 8.050.
Milbank will compete at the Hendricks-RTR meet Friday, January 27. They also travel to Clear Lake Saturday, January 28, for the Deuel Invitational.
Complete results for Milbank from the Watertown Invitational:
Team Scores
Watertown, 144.325; Mitchell, 143.00; Madison, 140.275; Deuel, 136.25; Brookings, 138.15; Huron, 132.30; Britton-Hecla, 130.625; Milbank, 128.775; Sisseton, 113.175; Warner, 28.175.
All-Around Competition
14. Brooke Fraasch, 33.025; 17. Mackenzie Weinkauf, 32.20; 18. Jodi DeVaal, 31.775.
Vault
19. Mackenzie Weinkauf, 8.475; 31. Brooke Fraasch, 8.275; 33. Jodi DeVaal, 8.20; 37. Maddie Gustafson, 8.0; 39. Tori Hooth, 7.85.
Uneven Parallel Bars
22. Brooke Fraasch, 8.025; 32. Greta Snaza, 7.50; 35. Mackenzie Weinkauf, 7.40; 37. Jodi DeVaal, 7.15; Maddie Gustafson, 6.70.
Balance Beam
17. Brooke Fraasch, 8.075; 19. Dani Yamaura, 8.05; 27. Jodi DeVaal, 7.825; 32. Mackenzie Weinkauf, 7.50; 34. Christina Lusk, 7.35.
Floor Exercise
24. Mackenzie Weinkauf, 8.825; 30. Brooke Fraasch, 8.65; 33. Jodi DeVaal, 8.6; Christina Lusk, 8.225; Maddie Gustafson, 8.175.

Greta Snaza on the uneven parallel bars.