Gymnasts earn their stripes at state tournament

Minnesota High School State Tournament

For the first time this decade, both North Branch and Chisago Lakes sent multiple gymnasts down to the state tournament at the Sports Pavilion on the University of Minnesota Campus.
 

Katy Trunk of North Branch and Sam Thomsen of Chisago Lakes qualified in the all-around competition and CL’s Nicole Bean and Alicia Sokol qualified in the uneven bars and floor exercise, respectively, while NB’s Bayley Ertl competer in the vault.

Outside of the balance beam, Thomsen had a banner day by her standards. “Sam had just a great meet,” Head Coach Brett Kjos said. 
 

She earned a personal best in the all-around score and on the floor exercise.

Her day began with a solid uneven bars routine, and then she took to the balance beam. “We were really looking forward to beam,” Kjos said. “Sam looked really great in practice all last week, but unfortunately, she fell on her round-off, wolf jump series. That was a skill she was falling on in the beginning of the year, but seemed to have all the kinks worked out in the last month. Just the wrong place and time to miss that skill again.”
 

After knocking out the two toughest events, Thomsen had a 16.8, which put her on a good pace to break her personal best in the all-around.

She was boosted by a career best 8.8 in the floor exercise. “Sam's floor exercise was awesome.  She tried to add a new skill, a full twist, to her first tumbling pass during warm-ups at the section meet and lost the skill last week during practice,” Kjos explained. “Not even close to making it.  But, with the excitement and the adrenaline rush of being at the state meet, she attempted the skill again and it was flawless.”
 

On her vault, Thomsen scored an 8.6875 and that helped her top her personal record in the all-around in the biggest meet of her career.

North Branch freshman Katy Trunk didn’t have quite the same results.

She also opened on the uneven bars and after a spectacular routine, Trunk fell on her dismount, costing her valuable points.

The trend continued on the balance beam as Trunk also had trouble staying on the beam for her full routine. 
 

She followed that up with a pretty good showing on the floor exercise, scoring an 8.4375, but the frosh saved her best for last.

On the vault, Trunk finished the highest of any Chisago County competitor on the day, grabbing an 18th place finish with a score of 9.2875

Individual Competitors

Bean was the first individual to tackle an event, as she qualified in the uneven bars. She had a great run, falling just .075 points short of her personal best with a score of 8.3. “She had a good week of practice and worked putting new skills into her bar routine,” Kjos said after the meet. “Her routine was one of the nicest that I have ever seen her do. It looks effortless.”
 

Sokol, of Chisago Lakes, was the second individual competitor to perform, as she qualified in the floor exercise. Her 8.8750 was highlighted by one of the judges awarding her a 9.3 in the performance. The score was even with her personal best that she set at sections the week before. “Alicia really worked hard on eliminating any extra steps she was taking during her tumbling passes last week in practice, and it really paid off,” said Kjos. “Her routine was tremendous and so much fun to watch.”
 

The last individual competitor to go was Ertl, taking part in the vault. The junior had an impressive run, scoring a 9.1 in the event. She made the Vikings two-for-two on vault in scoring over nine.

“We had a great season, that ended with these two girls who made it to state,” NB Head Coach Barb Burdick said. “The team is still young and working hard, and we are looking ahead to next season and what we can do to get better. I see great things for our future.”
 

Kjos, who returns most of his gymnasts, is also optimistic after the state tournament. “I think it was a real learning experience for the girls,” he said. “Hopefully they can take what they learned from participating in such a big meet and use this experience to improve each of their routines.  Next season should be really exciting and I am looking forward to what that season has in store.”