The MHS gymnastics team had a busy weekend with back-to-back meets Friday and Saturday, January 27, and January 28. They traveled to Hendricks, Minnesota,... Gymnasts Aim for State

The MHS gymnastics team had a busy weekend with back-to-back meets Friday and Saturday, January 27, and January 28. They traveled to Hendricks, Minnesota, and Clear Lake.

The meet in Hendricks on Friday was a dual event, rescheduled from earlier this season. Milbank finished behind the host team with a score of 119.775. “A combination of missed routines, tough judging, and attempting new skills resulted in our lowest score since our first meet of the year,” explained head coach Amber Fraasch. “We are at a point where we need to know what skills we can complete successfully and how they will be scored. This allows us to make the adjustments to finish the season with our highest degree of difficulty while cleaning up our execution.”

Two gymnasts finished in the top five on the floor exercise for the Lady Bulldogs. Weinkauf took third place with an 8.5, and Brooke Fraasch was close behind in fourth with an 8.025.

On the uneven parallel bars, B. Fraasch led the team with a 7.55. She also placed fourth on the vault with an 8.275. Attempting new vaults were Mackenzie Weinkauf, Jodi DeVaal, Maddie Gustafson, and Greta Snaza.

The final event of the meet was the balance beam and according to Coach Fraasch, “Both teams had difficulty staying on, but Dani Yamaura and Maddie Gustafson had no-fall routines.” Three Lady Bulldogs placed in the top five. Yamaura led the team with second place with a 7.725, B. Fraasch was fourth with a 7.025, and Weinkauf was fifth with a 6.95.

B. Fraasch was the only MHS gymnast to place in the top five in the all-around competition. She landed in fourth place with a 30.875.

The team traveled to Clear Lake on Saturday, January 28, for the Deuel Invitational. The Lady Bulldogs placed fourth out of seven teams with a score of 128. “After a tough meet Friday, we bounced back with a much better performance Saturday,” Coach Fraasch said. “We were again in the 128 range and still have room for improvement in the last two meets of the season.”

B. Fraasch led the team with a fifth place finish in the all-around competition. She completed the meet with a score of 32.60.

High energy performances during the floor exercise led to season-high scores for Weinkauf, Christina Lusk, and Gustafson. Weinkauf placed third in the event with an 8.95, and Lusk was tenth with an 8.45. Gustafson scored an 8.2. During the vault competition, Jodi DeVaal had the top score for the the team at 8.3.

In the uneven parallel bars, the team placed third overall. B. Fraasch paced the team with eleventh place and a score of 7.85. DeVaal tied her personal best score of 7.35, and Yamaura earned a personal best score of 7.1.

The final event for the Lady Bulldogs was the balance beam. “We performed well enough to finish second in the event,” said Coach Fraasch. B. Fraasch led the team with a no-fall routine; she scored an 8.4 and placed third. Also having a no-fall and personal best routine was Christina Lusk. She placed seventh overall with an 8.15. DeVaal earned tenth place with a 7.75.

Milbank will battle for spots in the State Class A gymnastics meet during the Region 1A and Northeast Conference meets in Clear Lake Thursday, February 2. The top five all-around gymnasts will advance to the state meet along with the top 50% for each event. Any gymnast who has met the in-season state qualifying standards three times during the season will also advance to the state meet.

In the team competition, the top three teams from both Region 1 and Region 2 will advance to the state meet and the next three highest scoring teams will also advance to state as wild card teams. The state Class A meet is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, February 10-11, in Aberdeen.

Complete results for the Milbank gymnasts from both meets:
Hendricks vs. Milbank Varsity Dual Meet
Team scores – Hendricks, 130.55; Milbank, 119.775.
Vault
4. Brooke Fraasch, 8.275; Greta Snaza, 8.125; Jodi DeVaal, 7.9; Maddie Gustafson, 7.85; Mackenzie Weinkauf, 7.725; Dani Yamaura, 7.575; Christina Lusk, 6.95.
Uneven Parallel Bars
Brooke Fraasch, 7.55; Jodi DeVaal, 6.775; Dani Yamaura, 6.70; Mackenzie Weinkauf, 6.60; Maddie Gustafson, 6.45; Greta Snaza, 5.90; Christina Lusk, 5.65.
Balance Beam
2. Dani Yamaura, 7.725; 4. Brooke Fraasch, 7.025; 5. Mackenzie Weinkauf, 6.95; Maddie Gustafson, 6.40; Jodi DeVaal, 6.25; Greta Snaza, 5.975; Christina Lusk, 5.45.
Floor Exercise
3. Mackenzie Weinkauf, 8.5; 4. Brooke Fraasch, 8.025; Christina Lusk, 7.75; Jodi DeVaal, 7.625; Maddie Gustafson, 7.475; Dani Yamaura, 7.0; Greta Snaza, 6.875.
All-Around Competition
4. Brooke Fraasch, 30.875; Mackenzie Weinkauf, 29.775; Dani Yamaura, 29.00; Jodi DeVaal, 28.55; Maddie Gustafson, 28.175; Greta Snaza, 26.875; Christina Lusk, 25.80.

Deuel Invitational Meet
Team scores – Hendricks, 135.05; Deuel, 133.70; Britton-Hecla, 128.85; Milbank, 128.0; Chamberlain, 120.45; Sisseton, 117.0; Big Stone Lake Area, 113.25; Warner, 27.75.
All-Around Competition
5. Brooke Fraasch, 32.60; 11. Mackenzie Weinkauf, 31.05; 14. Jodi DeVaal, 30.60.
Vault
14. Jodi DeVaal, 8.3; 18. Mackenzie Weinkauf, 8.2; 20. Brooke Fraasch, 8.1; 20. Tori Hooth, 8.1; 27. Maddie Gustafson, 7.70; 27. Greta Snaza, 7.70.
Uneven Parallel Bars
11. Brooke Fraasch, 7.85; 15. Jodi DeVaal, 7.35; 17. Greta Snaza, 7.2; 21. Dani Yamaura, 7.10; 22. Mackenzie Weinkauf, 6.90; 25. Maddie Gustafson, 6.65.
Balance Beam
3. Brooke Fraasch, 8.4; 7. Christina Lusk, 8.15; 10. Jodi DeVaal, 7.75; 13. Dani Yamaura, 7.65; 21. Mackenzie Weinkauf, 7.0; 30. Tori Hooth, 6.55.
Floor Exercise
3. Mackenzie Weinkauf, 8.95; 10. Christina Lusk, 8.45; 16. Brooke Fraasch, 8.25; 17. Maddie Gustafson, 8.2; 24. Dani Yamaura, 7.85; 36. Jodi DeVaal, 7.2.

Photo of Maddie Gustafson.

Staff Writer

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