Gymnasts 4th at Platteville Invite

Work to do. Sauk Prairie’s girls gymnastics day had a solid showing at the eight-team Platteville Invite last Saturday, finishing fourth overall. But the Eagles know they’ll have to improve to reach the upcoming state tournament for the first time in school history. Mount Horeb won the team title with a 140.725 score, while the Dodgeville co-op was second at 137.050. Platteville’s co-op was third (134.90), while Sauk Prairie (134.125) and the Southwestern co-op was fifth (133.550). The Eagles competed without Claire Hartman, who was out due to illness. Sauk Prairie’s McKenna Breunig was fifth in the all-around with a 35.150, while Lyla Annen was 12th (33.150) and Lauren Uselman was 15th (32.825). “McKenna had a bit of an off night with a fall on bars and a fall on beam — both very unlike her,” Sauk Prairie coach Justine Anderson said. “However she still had a great outcome and more importantly was able to shake off the falls and finish with a solid rest of the routine. She still earned a podium spot on every event, including all-around. “Lyla has been continuing to improve and had another incredible competition. She got her PR on beam, which earned her spot on the varsity podium for the first time ever. She also medaled on the all-around.” Breunig was seventh on the vault with an 8.70, while the Eagles also counted scores from Annen (7.750), Kylee Ballweg (7.70) and Addisyn Ranzenberger (7.650). Breunig was ninth on the uneven bars with an 8.375 and Ballweg was 11th (8.30). Sauk Prairie also counted scores from Annen (8.20) and Lauren Uselman (7.60). “Kylee earned a medal for her bar routine for the second invite in a row,” Anderson said. “She has been such a consistent scorer for the team on this event.” Breunig was eighth on the balance beam (8.875), Annen was 10th (8.825) and Uselman was 12th (8.775). Ranzenberger added an 8.525. “Lauren earned her first varsity medal today as well with a great beam routine,” Anderson said. “Addy got a PR on beam with the best routine we’ve seen from her all year.”  And on the floor exercise, Breunig was sixth with a 9.20, while the Eagles also counted scores from Uselman (8.850), Ranzenberger (8.425) and Annen (8.375). The Eagles also rolled past Reedsburg, 136.90-123.40 on Senior Night on Feb. 12. “The seniors all wore throwback leotards either from previous years at Sauk or club gymnastics,” Anderson said. “The highlight was Lauren wore her mom’s old competition leotard.” Breunig won the all-around with a 35.725, while Hartman was second (34.275) and Annen was third (32.750). The Eagles opened on the vault, where Hartman finished first with an 8.30. Sauk Prairie also counted scores from Ranzenberger (7.950), Annen (7.90) and Breunig (7.80). “We had a bit of a rough start on vault, with a couple of almost good vaults, followed by a couple of falls including McKenna, who scored a full point lower than usual,” Anderson said.  “It seemed as though everyone was a little emotional after march-in, as we called out that it was the seniors’ last home event and recognized all six of them individually. So they were all a little worked up on vault. However, they managed to shake it off and settle in by the time we got to bars.” That’s for sure. Breunig recovered nicely and was first on bars with a 9.125. Hartman was second (8.60), Ballweg was third (8.325) and Annen added an 8.125. “Every varsity girl was between 0.1 and 0.2 of their PR, earning us our highest bar team score of the season,” Anderson said.  Breunig was also first on the balance beam, setting a new school record with a 9.450. Uselman was second (8.850), Annen was third (8.350) and Hartman added an 8.20. “McKenna ended our beam rotation with a 9.45, making everyone a little emotional, as it was her last time competing on that beam and she broke the school record,” Anderson said. And on the floor exercise, Breunig was first with a 9.350 that tied the school record. Hartman was second (9.175), Uselman was third (8.80) and Ranzenberger was fourth (8.60). “Floor ended the night with a bang, with all girls again coming within tenths of their PR and both Addy and McKenna earning a new PR,” Anderson said. “We also scored our highest team floor score of the season.” Overall, it was a tremendous meet for the Eagles. “It was a great confidence boost for the team, as well as a learning experience, because we still managed to score our second highest team score, despite starting on our lowest vault score of the season,” Anderson said. • On deck: Sauk Prairie is at the Badger Conference Invitational at Watertown Saturday at 10 a.m. The meet is a varsity and a junior varsity competition and will include the following teams: Baraboo, Milton/Edgerton, Monona Grove, Mount Horeb, Reedsburg, Sauk Prairie, Watertown and Waunakee/DeForest.