ST. PAUL — Shut out of the state team competition for just the second time in the past eight seasons, Stillwater gymnastics contributed to a strong showing for Suburban East Conference teams in the Class AA individual state meet on Saturday, Feb. 24 at Roy Wilkins Auditorium.
The Ponies qualified all five individuals from the section team for state in at least one event and Liberty Quast returned to the medal stand for the second year in a row.
“I thought things went well,” Ponies co-head coach Dusty Dennis said. “Libby had a great showing and the rest of the girls did well in their events. They were happy with what they did and left with a smile on their face.”
Quast was the only non-senior among the team’s state contingent and she placed fourth in the vault with a score of 9.65 — moving up one spot after placing fifth in the event a year ago.
Jackie Bergeron of St. Michael-Albertville was the top finisher in the vault with a score of 9.825, one of four gold medals for the senior. Bergeron alsowon the beam and floor exercise on the way to capturing the all-around title with a total of 38.35.
Avery Dox (9.775) of Mounds View/Irondale and Nyah Symone Britt (9.725) of Hopkins were the only gymnastics to finish ahead of Quast in the vault.
“The girls in front of her were amazing as well, so it wasn’t that she messed up,” Dennis said. “She was just up against some really stiff competitions and they were all within about a couple tenths of each other. With that group of girls it was phenomenal vaulting for that top four.”
One of four seniors competing at state for the Ponies, Ava Biederman placed 20th in the vault with a score of 9.35.
“I think that was probably her best vault or pretty darn close,” Dennis said.
Biederman didn’t exactly coast into her final prep competition, either. Instead of the pike has been performing all season, she increased the difficulty slightly for state.
“She had never tried the layout before in competition,” Dennis said. “She did it once in practice the week building up and just said I’m a senior and it’s individuals so let’s go for it.”
In addition to last year’s gymnastics state meet, Quast also competed at the girls track and field state meet in the 100 meters and triple jump last spring.
“She’s one of the best vaulters in the state and the fact that she’s in track helps her because she’s a strong runner,” Dennis said. “She’s very strong and compact and when she hits the table she just kind of flies.”
Quast also placed 26th for the Ponies in the uneven bars with a score of 8.875.
“I think she’s super excited about next year, too,” Dennis said. “She was excited to do individuals, but she had a good season and is already focusing on what she’s going to do next year.”
Zoe Chase was the team’s lone entry in the beam, which was also the first rotation of the night for Stillwater. She placed 32nd with a score of 8.85, an event won by Bergeron with a total of 9.625.
“Zoe was able to stay on and she also threw a new skill on her beam routine that she had been working on all week,” Dennis said. “She hit it and did well.”
Three Ponies qualified in the floor. Abby Savelkoul received a score of 9.1 to place 36th while Chloe Stanton (8.9) and Biederman (8.5) followed in 42nd and 45th.
“When you go to state the judging is hard,” Dennis said. “They weren’t perfect, but they were good floor routines.”
Biederman also threw a new skill into her floor routine that she didn’t quite land, but Dennis liked the aggressive approach.
“It was a new skill and she went for it,” Dennis said.
Quast was limited to watching and cheering for the first two rotations before competing in the vault and the bars. Having five competitors in the meet — with the sections grouped together for each rotation — helped create a more comfortable experience for state.
“That’s the hard part in general about individuals,” Dennis said. “You might be in one event and sitting around the whole time, but she had a good warm up and she was in a really good place.
“It makes it a more comfortable experience. The girls from other teams also treat each other nice and root for each other, but it’s definitely a different experience when your teammates and friends are there on the competition floor with you and it makes a big difference. If you’re able to get teammates through as a group it totally changes the experience and it gives you something to do, too.”
Making it even more special was having all four of the team’s seniors in the state meet.
“It’s nice when all your seniors are there and you can see each other off and have that experience as seniors,” Dennis added. “The girls were happy with their performances and happy with their season. I think as coaches we (including co-head coach Joan Ledson) were really proud that all the hard work they put into the week and how the group handled everything. Not winning the section never fazed them a bit and they were focused going into individuals.”
Following a strong showing in the team competition one day earlier, the Suburban East Conference and Section 4AA were each represented well at state.
In fact, five of the top nine finishers in the all-around were from the Suburban East Conference, led by Anna Phillipson (38.15) and Delaney Cunnington (37.925) in second and third place behind Bergeron.
Dox placed sixth with a total of 37.5 while Laney Schwellenbach (37.425) of East Ridge and Samantha Ernst (37.325) of Forest Lake placed eighth and ninth.
“It just goes to show how strong our conference and section are right now,” Dennis said.
Three conference teams were also featured in the Class AA state team competition. Cretin-Derham Hall, which finished ahead of Stillwater in Section 4AA, placed second at state with a score of 144.9.
Lakeville South claimed the title by 2.5 points with a winning total of 147.4. Hopkins (144.45) and Forest Lake (144.425), which shared the SEC title with Raiders, placed third and fourth while the other SEC participant East Ridge (139.6) finished seventh.
Individual results
Top 3, Stillwater entries
Vault — 1. Jackie Bergeron (St. Michael-Albertville) 9.825; 2. Avery Dox (Mounds View/Irondale) 9.775; 3. NyahSymone Britt (Hopkins) 9.725; 4. Liberty Quast (St) 9.65; 20. Ava Biederman (St) 9.35.
Uneven bars — 1. Delaney Cunnington (Cretin-Derham Hall) 9.725; 2. Laney Schwellenbach (East Ridge) 9.55; 3. Anna Phillipson (Forest Lake) 9.55; 26. Liberty Quast (St) 8.875.
Beam — 1. Jackie Bergeron (St. Michael-Albertville) 9.625; 2, tie, Anna Phillipson (Forest Lake) 9.5 and Reese King (Lakeville South) 9.5; 32. Zoe Chase (St) 8.85.
Floor — 1. Jackie Bergeron (St. Michael-Albertville) 9.7; 2. Delaney Cunnington (Cretin-Derham Hall) 9.6; 3. Anna Phillipson (Forest Lake) 9.525; 36. Abbey Savelkoul (St) 9.1; 42. Chloe Stanton (St) 8.9; 45. Ava Biederman (St) 8.5.
All-around — 1. Jackie Bergeron (St. Michael-Albertville) 38.35; 2. Anna Phillipson (Forest Lake) 38.15; 3. Delaney Cunnington (Cretin-Derham Hall) 37.925.
Contact Stuart Groskreutz at stuart.groskreutz@apgecm.com
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