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The old Big Lake Tropical Twist Tournament was rebranded into the Hornet Classic, and it was Chisago Lakes’ first gymnastics meet out of the long holiday break.

The meet features some very talented and very tough teams that populate the top of the state gymnastic rankings. Monticello and Becker are both in the top five in Class A and Big Lake and New London-Spicer are both top 15 teams in Class A. Rogers and Sartell-St. Stephen are both top 15 teams in Class AA.

The Wildcats did end up finishing in seventh place in the seven team meet, but they weren’t far off of New London-Spicer, and they still had a good meet, considering the competition they were up against. “"We started the meet well on floor and vault, but struggled on beam and bars,” Head Coach Lee Crouse said. "We've yet to see our full potential by hitting on all four events, so that will be our focus."

Ella Rhein tied for fourth on the vault, with a 9.250, and Chelsea Stipe put down an 8.90. The uneven bars didn’t treat CL very well, with Breanna Kotlowski coming in as the top scorer with a mark of 7.65, which put her in 26th place.

On the balance beam, Kotlowski, Rhein and Stipe were all bunched up with pretty good scores. Kotlowski finished with an 8.60 and Rhein and Stipe tied with an 8.40. Kotlowski’s score put her in 12th place in the event while Rhein and Stipe tied for 14th with Karli Kirk of Becker.

On the floor exercise, Rhein was the only Wildcat in the top 25, securing a 21st place tie with an 8.70. The senior was also the top scorer for CL in the all around, putting up a 33.50 to finish in 16th place. Kotlowski was just behind in 17th place with a 33.0. Caty Larsen finished in 22nd with a 31.30 for CL.

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