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With four grueling meets in 10 days, the Chisago Lakes gymnastics squad had a busy week and a half of action.

Becker 139.60, Chisago Lakes 129.35

The Wildcats were always going to be up against it in this one, as Becker is the reigning Class A state champion, but Chisago Lakes didn’t have their strongest meet of the year, and it led to a 10 point win for the Bulldogs.

Ella Rhein and Chelsea Stipe were the only all arounders for Chisago Lakes to break 30 points – in fact they were the only ones to break 24 points even – with Rhein coming in fourth place at the meet with a 34.425 and Stipe coming in sixth with a score of 31.400.

Both of the girls had their strongest performances on the vault and floor exercises. Stipe scored a 9.075 on the vault while Rhein had an 8.850. Rhein then finished with an 8.875 on the floor and Stipe had an 8.650.

Winter Wonderland Invite

The ‘Cats stayed in that 129 range when they traveled to Wisconsin for the Winter Wonderland Invite on Saturday, January 11. 

They finished in fourth place out of 10 teams behind River Falls, Hudson and Medford.

Stipe had the highlights of the meet for Chisago Lakes, as the sophomore won the balance beam event with a 9.125. She was the only gymnast at the meet to score over nine points on the challenging event. She also came in second place on the vault, scoring a 9.250, finishing behind Celina Hess of Bloomer-Colfax, who scored a 9.250 as well, but held the tiebreaker.

The uneven bars, which are also incredibly difficult, were conquered by Rhein at this event. The senior scored an 8.825 to finish in third place at the meet.

Rhein and Stipe were both in contention for the all around championship, but fell just short. Rhein finished just a point away and in fifth place with a score of 34.525, and Stipe was right behind in sixth place with a score of 34.150.

“"Chelsea Stipe and Ella Rhein had a great meet at the Winter Wonderland Invite in Hudson. Chelsea placing first on beam was a career high and she had several top finishes. Ella is starting to add more difficulty, and her scores are starting to reflect that with her placing well also,” Head Coach Lee Crouse said.

  

Cambridge-Isanti 137.975, Chisago Lakes 133.325

CL raised their score up a level in their meet against the Bluejackets on Wednesday, January 15, but the problem was they were up against Cambridge, who is a perennial contender in Class AA and a very strong program.

Rhein had her best meet of the stretch, scoring a 36.025 in the all around to win the meet. Her highlights came from a 9.25 on vault, an 8.875 on the bars and a 9.175 on the floor. Stipe scored an even nine on the vault, but didn’t quite nail her other routines and she finished with a 33.4. Breanna Kotlowski scored a 31.45 for the ‘Cats, highlighted by an 8.475 on the floor and an 8.3 on the balance beam.

“We've hit the bulk of our schedule with four meets in two weeks. It can be a grind, and we've had a few athletes out,” Crouse explained. “We've also had some of our JV athletes helping us on varsity, we appreciate those athletes stepping up. It's nice to have the depth to help when needed."

Chisago Lakes hosted Monticello this week on Wednesday, and will travel to St. Francis to take on the Saints on Tuesday, January 28 at 6 p.m. in their penultimate meet. They’ll finish the regular season by hosting a tri on Tuesday, February 4.

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