Gymnasts win River Valley Invite

Justine Anderson is not a crier. But late Saturday afternoon, Anderson — Sauk Prairie’s girls gymnastics coach — couldn’t help herself. The Eagles had a day to remember and won the 10-team River Valley Invite. And afterwards, Anderson needed a box of tissues. Sauk Prairie finished with a sensational 135.950 team score and edged the Dodgeville co-op (135.825) for the team title. Baraboo (133.825), Southwestern’s co-op (132.225) and Reedsburg (131.10) rounded out the top five. “We have had so many years of hard work that led to this record, and we’ve had lots of years at the bottom first, that made this moment so sweet and so emotional,” Anderson said. “I am choked up … as I have poured so much into these girls. They are well deserving of this success.” McKenna Breunig was fifth in the all-around competition with a 34.575, Sara Nehring was seventh (34.450) and Claire Hartman was eighth (34.025). Nehring was fourth on the vault (8.550), while Breunig was ninth (8.325), and Kylee Ballweg and Hartman both tied for 19th (8.0). Nehring was third on the uneven bars (8.850), Hartman was eighth (8.40), Breunig was 10th (8.30) and Ballweg was 12th (7.90). Sauk Prairie’s bars score of 33.450 was just 0.05 away from the school record. Breunig was second on the balance beam (9.150), while Lauren Uselman was seventh (8.70), Hartman was eighth (8.625) and Nehring was 10th (8.525). The Eagles’ 35.0 score on the beam was a new school record. Lastly, Hartman won the floor exercise (9.0), while Breunig was seventh (8.80), Nehring was 11th (8.525) and Addisyn Ranzenberger was 15th (8.30). “The girls deserved a successful night after being so close to getting all the pieces together for a while,” Anderson said. “We’ve had some tough scoring and some mental challenges.  “A lot of girls are feeling the pressure, so to come together as a team and have a successful night was the boost everyone needed this close to conference and sectionals. Now they know they are capable of doing well and having fun at the same time and hopefully can learn a lot from this experience.” The Eagles also split a triangular on Jan. 30, defeating Monona Grove, 132.8250-130.3750 and falling to Mount Horeb, 138.1750-132.8250. Nehring suffered an ankle injury early in the meet, but Sauk Prairie still managed its second-highest team score of the season. “Addy (Ranzenberger) stepped in to fill Sara’s shoes on beam, and proved that she deserved that spot all along, scoring a PR and the highest varsity beam score of the night,” Anderson said. “Lyla (Annen) stepped in to fill Sara’s spot on floor for her first varsity floor performance of the season, and looked incredible despite being thrown into the spot.” Breunig was second in the all-around with a 34.1250, while Hartman was third (33.4750). Hartman and Breunig both posted an 8.350 on the vault, while Ballweg scored an 8.20 and Ranzenberger scored an 8.10. Breunig posted an 8.650 on the uneven bars, while the Eagles also counted scores from Hartman (8.450), Nehring (8.0) and Ballweg (7.90). Ranzenberger scored an 8.30 on the beam, while Sauk Prairie also counted scores from Breunig (8.10), Uselman (7.950) and Hartman (7.9250). And on the floor, Breunig scored a sensational 9.0250, while Hartman (8.750), Ranzenberger (8.4250) and Uselman (8.350) also had strong performances. “Despite losing Sara’s beam and floor score, the girls still scored their second-highest team score of the season and are definitely gaining confidence in their performances,” Anderson said.   • On deck: The Eagles are at Reedsburg Thursday at 6:30 p.m., then head to the Platteville Invitational Saturday at 10 a.m.