It was a bit of a mixed ending for a senior-dominated Park team in the Section 3AA meet Friday at Eastview High School in Apple Valley.
Sophomore Ashley Davis qualified for state with a 9.225 score and a fourth-place finish in the vault, but senior all-around standout Emily Dahlstrom missed a repeat trip to the state gymnastics tournament.
“Ashley had a great performance on floor and vault,” said Park head coach Ali Flaata. “Emily had a great vault, floor, bars.”
“I landed my chest up and a good score,” said Davis of her vault work. “I think overall the whole team had a good meet. I think I had a pretty good meet, especially on vault and floor and I stuck my beam routine.
“I think I made a lot of improvements with bigger skills, and working hard,” Davis said when asked how the season has progressed for her.
It was the final gymnastics go round for Park seniors Dahlstrom, Natalya Rugel, Annelise Faletti, Vanessa Suh and Elisa Mellingen.
“They’re going to leave a hole,” Flaata said of the departing seniors. “We’ll try and fill it.”
The first, second and third place all-around finalists, plus the next three highest scorers in each individual event, qualified for the state meet.
Dahlstrom just missed in the all-around, finishing fourth with a score of 35.100. She also missed in her signature event, the floor exercise, scoring a 9.150 and finishing 10th.
“I felt like I had a really good floor, not my best,” said Dahlstrom. “My score didn’t really reflect but I’d say honestly my bars was really clean tonight. I’m really proud of that. Overall, pretty good, I feel like as a team we did good, we all came together for our last meet, which is bittersweet. But I think we had a good season.”
Laney Schwellenbach of the East Ridge Raptors won the all-around title with a score of 37.475. Lucy Rapp of Two Rivers finished second at 36.150, Lacey Thomas of Woodbury was third at 35.575 and Dahlstrom finished fourth at 35.100.
“She (Dahlstrom) had a pretty good performance, it just wasn’t quite enough to get her to state,” said Flaata. “But I think she should be proud of what she did because she did have a good meet.
Davis was sixth in the all-around with a 34.950 score. Senior Natalya Rugel placed 12th overall (32.800) and Clara Opichka was 14th (32.425).
Park finished fifth in the team race with a season best score of 136.225.
East Ridge won the team championship and will advance to the state meet as a team. The Raptors led with a 141.925 score. Rosemount was second at 140.325, followed by: 3, Apple Valley/Eastview, 138.775, 4, Eagan, 136.350; 5, Park, 136.225; 6, Two Rivers, 130.975; 7, Woodbury, 128.375; and 8, Hastings, 127.600.
“We had a pretty good night,” said coach Flaata. “A couple more falls on beam, or just some weird things on beam that happened. But we had great floor, great vaults, pretty good bars and some decent beams.
“I think floor and vault were up there,” Flaata added. “I think we were the top scoring vault team her tonight, so that went really well.”
Davis’s fourth-place finish on the vault led Park in the event. Rugel was sixth (9.075), Dahlstrom 10th (8.975), Opichka (18th, 8.550) and Natalie Peters (20th, 8.475).
“Natalya had a great vault,” said Flaata. “Last year at sections she over rotated. And tonight, she was able to stick it and have a great meet.”
Dahlstrom’s bars routine earned her an eighth place and an 8.350 score. Davis followed with a 7.625, Opichka scored a 7.574, Kate Redmond a 7.575 and Rugel a 7.100.
On the balance beam, Davis led the way, scoring an 8.875 to finish 11th. Dahlstrom was 16th with an 8.625, Ruby Igl 22nd with an 8.350, Rugel 24th with an 8.275 and Opichka 33rd with a 7.875.
Davis finished seventh and scored a 9.225 to lead Park on the floor. Dahlstrom was 10th (9.150), followed by Opichka (18th, 8.425), Rugel (26th, 8.350) and Faletti (32nd, 8.125).
The Class AA individual state gymnastics championships will be held Saturday, Feb. 24, at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul, starting at 6 p.m.
