The OHS Girls Gymnastics team is at an excellent spot in their season as they threw a team high of 146.25 and tied for first against Lakeville South at the Lakeville invite. The team is currently ranked number two in the state. 

The team is having great success as they are improving and growing in confidence as their season progresses and at every meet. Head Coach Evan Moe said, “Teams who have great success at large meets don’t let the nerves get the best of them and that’s something this team does very well.” 

This year, the girls have constantly been advancing on and off the mat; the captains for the 2023-2024 season are seniors Emma Johnson,  Kaelyn Smith and junior Averie Roush. Johnson said, “We have been at a good spot, and every meet, we have been improving.” The team has had seven meets, three  out of the seven meets being invites. The team has won every conference/dual meet, and has taken second in the Brainerd, Lakeville and Farmington invite.

They are nearing the end of their season with Big 9, Sections and  hopefully state . However, even though the season is nearing its end, the team’s goals and strengths have remained intact but have grown stronger as their season continues. The team’s strengths are on the incline as they continue to grow stronger each practice and meet. The girls are constantly growing their consistency in skills and individual events. As the season goes on they have been strengthening their bonds with each other, allowing them to become more comfortable and be better teammates when it comes to skills or just by being a helpful teammate. 

Another strength that the girls have been able to thrive on is energy. Roush said, “Our energy is something we thrive on. When we have high energy, we carry that on to our other events, and that always seems to make us have more fun, stay relaxed, and do better even on our hard events.” The team is only setting up for success as they carry on their strengths and talents through every meet.

The team hopes to finish their season strong and take home the gold. Roush said, “Goals for the rest of the season are to continue to improve our scores, keep our confidence going, and fix the little mistakes because those make all the difference when it comes to the overall team score.” Approaching the bigger meets like Big 9 and Sections, the girls set the bar for themselves and as a team. 

As the team approaches Big 9, junior Halle Theis says, “Our goal is to show that we are one of the top teams in the state by going to win Big 9.” The team always pushes themselves to new heights as they enter Sections after Big 9. At Sections, the team hopes to come out on top and get a Section title and also head to State as a team. The OHS Girls Gymnastics team’s work ethic and determination have continued to influence their outcome in meets and scores.

The team has their next meet on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 6:30 p.m. where they will compete against Faribault at home.