On Friday, Feb. 22, the Owatonna Gymnastics team went to participate in their fourth consecutive trip to the state tournament. The team ended the day with an overall score of 147.575, winning them their third bronze medal in a row. Second place went to Stillwater High School with 148.625 points, and Lakeville North High School received gold with 149.350 points. Head Coach Tom Smith said, “It’s just an incredible feeling to finish third three years in a row. There’s not many teams that can do it, and I’m really proud with what these girls have accomplished.”

The gymnastics team started the tournament on the vault, earning a 37.600, their best score of the day. The team scored 35.925 on the beam, which ended up being their lowest score of the four competitions, but some amazement was still pulled out of it. Seventh grader, Morgan Martinez was put on the section team right before the tournament to fill in for an injured teammate. Martinez stuck both her section and state routines scoring 9.05 and 8.95, respectively. Smith said, “She was about one-tenth from going to state as an individual. Then I put her here, in the middle of this great event, and she sticks again. It was one of the biggest things that I’ll take from this meet.” The team finished the meet on the floor, getting second with the score of 37.350, ending the day with great momentum.

On Saturday, Feb. 23, sophomore Lindsay Bangs and senior captain Allison An participated in the individual tournament. Bangs competed all-around and earned a spot on the podium, getting third with a score of 38.125. An also competed all-around and finished twelfth with a score of 37.600.

The team now must say goodbye to their three seniors, Allison An, Sydney Kretlow and Grace Barner. With over 20 years of combined gymnastics experience, An and other senior captain, Kretlow are sad to see it come to an end. Kretlow said, “It flew by, but I am so glad that I’ve had the opportunities and experiences through gymnastics. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.” Next year, the team plans to come out strong and end even stronger. Smith said, “Hopefully make it back to state, go undefeated again and maybe finish first.”