February 18, 2010 at 9:39 a.m.
Wildcats wrap up second place in NSC
Carlson wins the North Suburban All-Around championship
Wildcats wrap up second place in NSC
The Chisago Lakes gymnastics team wrapped up a second place finish in the North Suburban Conference when they topped St. Anthony Village. "Overall, it was a nice meet," Head Coach Brett Kjos said of the victory,
Like they have been almost all year, the 'Cats were paced by the trio of Lindsay Carlson, Madeline Carlson and Savanna Stendahl.
Those three led the Wildcats in the vault event, and that provided them with an early cushion and kept the pressure of the young lineup. Lindsay Carlson scored a 9.250 in vault, with Stendahl just behind her with a 9.125 and Madeline Carlson just behind them with an 8.925.
Their 35.825 total gave them a quick four-point lead over St. Anthony. Although the Huskies made up some of that deficit in their vaulting round, it wasn't much as the 'Cats held a 3.5 point lead after two events.
St. Anthony made it a little bit interesting after they cut into the lead again after the third event, but the floor exercise, which was CL's final event, is one of their best.
Lindsay Carlson's 9.150 was the 'Cats best floor score, and both Stendahl and Madeline Carlson scored well enough for CL to run away with the meet by just under seven points.
Lindsay Carlson's 36.300 all-around score won her the meet while Stendahl finished third with a 34.125. Madeline Carlson wasn't far off that pace, finishing with a 33.125 on the night.
NSC Conference Championship
After wrapping up their individual dual season with the win over St. Anthony, the 'Cats headed to Irondale High School to participate in the North Suburban Conference Championships.
Although they didn't have their best meet of the season, scoring a 133.375, it was enough to remain in second place in the conference, which is where they were seeded heading in.
St. Francis didn't surprise anyone by winning the competition. They were the regular season conference champions. The Saints were the only team to deal Chisago Lakes an NSC loss. Their 138.375 points was five points ahead of the Wildcats in the point totals.
The girls got off to a rough start when they had to start on the balance beam, which is their toughest event. Lindsay Carlson scored an 8.950 and Stendahl had an 8.650, but nobody else scored over 8.000 and it started the 'Cats out behind the proverbial eight-ball.
They had a few more struggles in the floor exercise. After scoring a 34.375 against St. Anthony just a week before, the 'Cats regressed to a 32.700 in the conference championships. Lindsay Carlson led them again, scoring an 8.700, but other than her, only Madeline Carlson broke the eight-point barrier with an 8.150. Alicia Sokol, Sam Thomsen and Stendahl all had some troubles on the floor.
Although they stayed true to form in the vault, scoring a 34.600, things where still an uphill battle to even come close to the Saints. Lindsay Carlson set a school record in the vault with a 9.475, and Stendahl, Madeline Carlson and Sokol all scored above 8.175.
The uneven bars didn't do much to the 'Cats fortunes. They only scored 32.725, led by Lindsay Carlson's 8.675. Stendahl scored an 8.500 to come in second for the 'Cats.
Lindsay Carlson's all-around performance was enough to earn first place in the conference. She scored a 35.800, which just barely nipped St. Francis's Amanda Pett, who scored a 35.750.
The finish was good enough to earn her All-Conference honors from the conference.
Stendahl earned All-NSC Honorable Mention when she snuck into the top 10 with an eighth place finish in the all-around. Madeline Carlson just missed out on the top 10, finishing 11th, but she still managed to earn All-NSC Honorable Mention.
Other than those three top performers, Sam Thomsen also earned All-Conference Honorable Mention for her performances this year.
With sections coming up, Chisago Lakes has a tall task in front of them. They are the smallest Class AA school, so they just narrowly miss out on being in Class A, where they would be much more of a threat.
As it stands, the 'Cats are in a section with Forest Lake and Cambridge-Isanti, two of the top programs in the state, and both present an uphill climb for almost any gymnastics team. "With some good practices this week, we should be ready for a great section meet on Friday," Kjos said.
The meet begins at 5 p.m. tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 19.
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