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The North Branch gymnastics team rose to the occasion on Thursday, January 18 when they took on defending state champions Becker and edged out a win, 140.85-140.075.

Although Becker hasn’t quite hit the heights this year that won them the title last year – their state meet winning score was in the 143 range – they are still a very formidable and very challenging opponent, and North Branch conquered them at home.

“It was an amazing show by both the JV and varsity teams with tons of excitement,” Head Coach Chris Johnson said. “I’m so proud of the girls and how they competed.”

The best event for the Vikings was their balance beam. They have great potential on the event, but at times, falls have held them back. They avoided any falls in this meet and did a great job. Ella Dick won the event with a 9.1, Emma Fenton was second with a 9.075 and Dakota Esget and Brooke Giese each put up scores over 8.8.

On the floor and uneven bars, Esget won both events. She scored a 9.45 on the floor and a 9.0 on the bars. She didn’t do half bad on the vault, either, scoring a 9.3, good enough for a tie with her teammate, Ella Dick, for second place.

Dick also finished in third on the floor exercise with a score of 9.1 and Sophia Thorsen had a 9.025 in the same event. Thorsen also finished in fourth on the bars with an 8.15.

In the all around, Esget won the meet that was chock full of talented gymnasts, with a mark of 36.6. Dick finished in third with an even 35 and Thorsen came in sixth with a score of 34.35.

With their recent results, the girls were invited to the True Team meet on Saturday, January 25, where only the top 10 highest scoring teams in Class A will be competing. Monticello and Becker will also be a part of the meet, and it’s being held at Big Lake at noon.

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