Lady Bulldogs Open Gymnastics Season With a Win

The Milbank Area gymnastics team opened their 2024-2025 season at the Sisseton Triangular on December 3. The varsity Lady Bulldogs tied for first with Sisseton. Both teams scored 120.35. Breckenridge-Wahpeton entered one gymnast in the varsity division. She scored 29.05.

MHS started the meet in the Floor competition. Sophomore Macyn Dunihoo took first place at 8.15. Senior Hannah Brown was right behind with an 8.05 for second place. Freshman Raina Untalan came in eighth at 6.95. Head Coach Kelly Wollschlager noted Raina added a layout to her routine for the first time. Eighth-grader Jada Leigh Wellnitz took 11th place. Aria Prasnicki, also an eighth grader, took 12th place at 5.9. Senior Gemma Street came in 13th at 5.3.

In the vault competition, Hannah secured first place with a solid handspring to score  8.9 According to Coach Wollschlager, it counts as her first one of three pre-qualifying scores to claim a berth at State. Macyn tied for sixth at 8.3. Jada Leigh scored a personal best at 8.1 to tie for eighth place with Gemma. Raina received an  8.0 for 11th place. Aria recorded a personal best of 7.8 for 12th place.

Macyn led the Lady Bulldogs on the bars. Macyn placed second with what Coach Wollschlager called “a clean connected routine” to score 7.35. “Hannah added in a clear hip circle and a toe-shoot release for the first time. This added more difficulty and event requirements to her routine to score 6.85 for fourth place. Jada Leigh and  Aria also added a long hang kip for the first time,’” Coach Wollschlager mentioned.  The new skill helped Jada Leigh score 6.0 for seventh place and Aria to score 5.35 for 12th place. Gemma and Raina also both performed clean routines. Raina recorded 5.9 for eighth place and Gemma recorded 5.7 for 10th place.

Hannah and Macyn performed solid no-fall routines to take first and second place respectively with 8.5 and 8.3. “Raina and Gemma both added in an event requirement of a flight skill which consisted of a round-off on the beam,” Coach Wollschlager remarked. Raina scored 7.55 for fourth place. Gemma scored 7.25 for sixth. Jada Leigh tied for ninth at 6.15. Aria placed 11th at 5.9.

In the All-Around, Hannah collected another first-place award at 32.3. At just .2 behind Hannah, Macyn brought home second place at 32.1. Raina finished fifth at 28.4. Gemma and Jada Leigh tied for seventh at 26.35.  Aria also made it into the top 10 at  9th place with her score of 24.95.

What’s next? The varsity Lady Bulldogs travel to Vermillion on Saturday, December 7. The meet starts at 11 a.m.
Coach Wollschlager commented, “We welcome back seven varsity letter winners this season: seniors Hannah Brown and Gemma Street; sophomores Mady Sletten and Macyn Dunnihoo; freshman Raina Untalan; and eighth graders Aria Prasnicki and Jada Leigh Wellnitz. New to the Lady Bulldogs team are 10th-grader Riley Ehlenbracht, and seventh graders Abigail Benike, Marley Pinkert, Nuria Rodriquez, Tenley Bohn, and Timbree Spors.

Coach Wollschlager also welcomes back Michele Benike as the middle school andJV coach, and Miranda Dunnihoo and Amber Fraasch as assistant coaches.

JV Results from Sisseton Triangular
The Milbank JV gymnasts took first place with a score of 104.15 at the Sisseton Triangular on December 3. They took home four of the top-five all-around places.. 

According to Coach Benike, seventh-grader Timbree Spors started the team off on beam with a no-fall routine. She noted Timbree recently added a back walkover series to her routine. Seventh-grader Abigail Benike placed third at 6.2. Seventh-graders Nuria Rodriquz and Marley Pinkert  tied for fourth at 6.1. Timbree placed sixth at 5.95. Tenley tied for eighth at 5.75, and Elise placed 10th at 5.0. Nuria and Elise also performed no-fall routines.

“Nuria had some very nice jumps and leaps to go along with her solid tumbling in her floor routine to score  a 7.05 for second place. Tenley performed her powerful tumbling and will soon be ready to add in upgraded skills,” Coach Benike said. Tenley Bohn, also a seventh grader,  scored 6.55 for fourth place. Abigail recorded 6.0 for fifth place. Timbree hit 5.35 for sixth, Marley 5.2 for seventh, and Elise 4.1 for 11th.

According to Coach Benike, all the girls had strong handsprings on vault. Nuria and Abigail both scored 8.0 for second- place honors. Timbree was close behind at 7.9 to tie for fourth. Tenley tied for sixth at 7.8.  Marley placed ninth at 7.7. Seventh-grader Elise Graham placed 11th at .6.

“Elise started the team off on bars by performing her back hip circle for the first time unassisted. Nuria and Timbree recently got their kips and added them to their routines for the first time. Abigail and Marley both had nice connections in their routines to score a 5.95 to tie for first place,” Coach Benike said. Nuria took third at 5.65,.Tenley was fourth at 5.6. Timbree came in 6th at 5.45, and  Elise claimed 10th place at  3.35.

Coach Benike noted, “The JV team includes six seventh graders making their high school gymnastics debut. These girls had a great first meet and will be exciting to watch as they continue to improve throughout the season!”

What’s next for the JV Lady Bulldogs? Milbank Area will host their only home meet of the season on December 21. Don’t miss your chance to support both teams and see them in action!

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