The McCown Gymnasium flooded with excitement as the Winona State women’s gymnastics team set up for their Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletics Conference triangular against Hamline University and the University of Wisconsin Stout on Feb. 8.
Starting at the All-Around, Jessica Miley brought her top performance, as is typical Warrior fashion. The second year easily stepped into first place with a score of 38.025, followed by UW Stout competitor Gillian Cummins and Warrior Bryce Stoltz at third.
At the Beam, Miley approached with the same determination and provided another winning performance with a top score of 9.575. This time she was rivaled only by fellow teammates Taryn Sellner and Kaylee Bateman, both of which were tied for second, successfully securing the top three spots in favor of Winona State and achieving a team score of 47.025.
“This year, I think we have been really good at making small improvements at each meet,” Miley said. “You can really see the growth between each competition, and I think we are a very strong team.”
While the All-Around and the Beam were where the Warriors took top positions, there performances in the remaining events were certainly not lacking and as noted by Miley, they continue to excel with every meet that passes.
The Floor Exercise was headed by UW Stout’s Isabela Krulich with a 9.700 by Miley and Izzy Kropiwiec were just behind at 9.650, tied with two other opposing competitors. Still, Winona State’s Sellner, Courtney Knutson, Bryce Stoltz and Madysen Diskerud filled the remaining positions near the top of the scoreboard to bring the team total to 48.100.
“I personally have a Beam score average of 9.5 and a Floor score average of a 9.675, and our team has made it into the WSU record book for Vault, Beam and Floor so far,” Sellner said when asked for her thoughts of the Warrior’s season so far. “Our team looks very strong in our gymnastics and as supporters for each gymnast on the team.”
With several first-year members, the upper-class competitors have stepped into their position as leaders to provide an admirable example for those coming into the sport which has certainly been displayed in their performances, even when the scores aren’t as high as hoped.
On the Vault, the Blue Devils took the win with both first and second place under their belt. At third, Stoltz her skills with a score of 9.600 and Diskerud followed at fifth, helping the team score to 47.250.
Finally, the Bars was where the Warriors saw the most struggle to achieve the familiar top three positions they had held in previous events. Blue Devil Kiara Brown dominated the event with a score of 9.600, followed by two of her teammates Sarah Lutz and Effie Ferguson. Fourth and fifth place were held by Warriors Bateman and Miley resulting in a team score of 45.800.
Overall, Winona State placed second with 188.175 as a team, lying just below UW Stout’s first place score of 188.450, an impressive feat even without the first-place title. With the immense amount of talent and perseverance that is exhibited by the Warrior’s, there is no doubt that they will reach their goal of qualifying for nationals if such excellent performances continue in upcoming meets.
“Our motto this year is “together WE define” which is something we created at the beginning of the pre-season,” fourth year Kropiwiec said. “This motto represents that no matter the challenges we face all of us define how our season goes. We define our attitude, work ethic, goals and more.”
The team will pack up for a short trip to the University of Wisconsin Lacrosse where they will participate in another WIAC meet on Feb. 16, heading off with the new records set and much more in store.
