Kylie Bridenhagen/Winonan

The Winona State University gymnastics team started this season with a championship level background behind them, also looking ahead and putting their talented group of underclassman into the spotlight.

Last season, senior Anna Gleason became an All-American after she placed seventh on vault at the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association Championship, while also earning All American honors on the uneven bars in 2011 at the NCGA Championship.

Junior Jena Jondahl also has championship experience after finishing second on vault when she was a freshman in 2011. Gleason and Jondahl will be just two of the impressive upperclassman to lead the team this year.

Winona State started their season off on the road, traveling to Oshkosh, Wisconsin to compete against the UW-Oshkosh Titans on Jan. 11.

The Warriors started off on the uneven bars, where Gleason scored a 9.325. This score would be the highest for the rest of the meet, and she went home the event champion.

Sophomore Melanee Pfautz would receive the next highest score in the lineup. She scored an 8.400, which put her in seventh place. After the first rotation, their bars score added up to 41.575, and they headed to their second event, the vault.

It was at this event that freshman Jade Donaldson, Kelsey Valdez, and Brooke Hiestand made their collegiate debuts. Olivia Catellino also vaulted, but started her college career earlier on bars. Donaldson got third place overall on vault with a 9.350, while Valdez tied for fourth place with teammate Stephanie Wojton.

They both scored 9.275. Catellino finished sixth overall with a 9.225. Hiestand was tied for eighth place with an 8.900 with teammate Katie Seehausen. Their vault team total added up to 46.025.

The Warriors’ third event of the meet was floor. Gleason tied for second with a high score of 9.525, while Cassandra Mello started off her college career with a fourth place finish, her score totaling 9.450.

The rest of their floor lineup had equally as impressive scores—all above 9.000. Hiestand was tied for fifth with a 9.350. Samantha Smith was tied for eighth with a 9.275. Rounding out the counted scores was Sabrina Hoover, who was 11th with a 9.225. With their highest event score of the day, they finished floor with a team total of 46.825, which is the highest totaled event score of the 2013 season thus far.

Finishing up their first meet on beam, Wojton received the highest score of the meet—a 9.300. Donaldson was right behind her with a 9.125, which put her in second. Mello was fourth with an 8.800. Hoover and Gleason were tied for fifth with 8.750. The event total for beam was 44.775.

Although they finished with high scores, the Warriors finished second behind UW-Oshkosh, with the team scores of 180.250 to 179.150. Gleason who had one individual event title to her name for the season and a second place finish on floor was happy to start the season on such a high note.

“It reminded me how much fun competition is and made me even more excited for this season!” Gleason said.

Wojton, who claimed the beam title, was happy to have such a confidence booster to start off her season.

“Beam has never been my strong event, but I knew before I even did my routine that my team needed a strong performance,” Wojton said, “Once I started my routine, I was able to block out every distraction and focus on what I needed to accomplish.”

On Jan. 15, for their second regular season competition, Winona State hosted their first home meet of the year against UW-La Crosse. The Warriors fell to the UW-La Crosse Eagles 181.450 to 179.300. The Eagles are the defending Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions.

Although they lost the duel meet, the put up a strong fight against the away team. Gleason’s favorite part of home meets is the support from the crowd.

Wojton likes being able to show the student body and faculty what Winona State gymnastics is all about.

“As soon as I put on that purple leotard, I am committed to representing Winona State in a sport I love.”  Wojton said.

The Warriors had two individual event winners at their home meet. Jondahl had the highest score of the day, with a 9.525 on vault.

Mello was not far behind that high score—she won beam with a 9.500.

One of her favorite parts of college gymnastics so far is the energy during the competition.

“Everyone was so excited and screaming for each other. It was exhilarating!” Mello said.

As for the rest of the meet, Danielle Thenell tied for second on bars with an 8.875. Wojton placed second on floor with a 9.325. The event scores of the day were vault with 46.375, uneven bars with 41.825, balance beam with 45.775 and floor with 45.325.

The most recent meet of the year was this last weekend on Jan. 19. The team traveled to St. Paul to compete in a triangular meet against Hamline and Gustavus Adolphus.

Of the four events, Winona State took home three individual titles, along with their first team win of the season.

Wojton was first on beam with a 9.5000 and also received a 9.150 on floor, which was good for second place. Thenell won bars with a 9.275 and Donaldson was vault champion with a 9.275.

The highest event team score of the night occurred on beam, where the Warriors team total was 45.400. On vault, they had a 44.975, a 44.750 on bars, and a 44.950 on floor. These scores added up to 180.750—the highest team score of the 2013 season. Winona State claimed the meet title, while Hamline was second with 175.250.

Goals for the team this year are to qualify a full team to the NCGA Championship meet, as well as qualify some girls into the individual event finals, and place well while there.

The Warrior gymnastics team will be competing again on Jan. 25, when they travel to Menomonie, Wisc. to compete against the UW-Stout Blue Devils.

Contact Kylie at [email protected]