Huskies edge out Trojans for first-ever state title
The Owatonna Huskies hoist the Class AA state team championship trophy after beating New Prague 146.825-146.450 for the title. The win marked Owatonna gymnastics’ first-ever state team title as a program. Staff photo by Johnnie Phillips
Owatonna gymnastics flipped, spun and stuck its way to the program’s first-ever team state title by throwing a 146.825 at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium last weekend to edge out New Prague by .375 points in a tight race for the title.
The Huskies entered the last rotation of competition on the beam trailing by 36.825 points, but a big performance at the right time helped propel Head Coach Evan Moe’s squad into the Owatonna history books.
“That’s all that you can say at the end of the day is that we’re so proud of all our girls. We know how much hard work they’ve put in, and how much they’ve been battling through injuries. Surgeries, concussions, all these setbacks. To see it all pay off with that last stuck routine, you can’t write it any better,” said Moe.
Owatonna started its day by building a lead over all competitors with a meet-best score of 37.575.
The Huskies were sharp in all aspects of their routines and carried their momentum over to the vault.
While New Prague outscored Owatonna 37.825-37.500 in the event, it was not enough to dethrone the Huskies as meet-leaders through two events with the scores at 75.075-73.350.
Owatonna took to the bars next in an event where the Huskies typically throw their lowest scores – potentially allowing the Trojans back into the mix for the top spot.
The Huskies were not deterred by New Prague’s big score in the event and put up a 34.550 to keep themselves in contention.
One of the biggest moments of the meet came in the balance beam where New Prague began to lose its footing.
Two Trojans’ gymnasts fell from the beam to cost the team critical points down the stretch.
The errors resulted in Owatonna keeping a slight 109.625-109.225 lead heading into the two teams’ final events.
Due to both teams falling on different rotations, New Prague took the floor for its last event while Owatonna watched from the stands.
The Trojans were near flawless on the floor, but it was not enough to surpass the Huskies as meet leaders in the event.
Needing just 36.825 points, the meet was well within reach for the Huskies after the team threw up a 37.900-point rotation at sections a week ago.
With the lights the brightest and the pressure at an all-time high, Owatonna got the job done with a stellar 37.200-point score to earn the team its first-ever team title.
However, the beam did not come without its own challenges.
Senior Averie Roush fell off the beam during the team’s second routine of the event, meaning that the Huskies had to remain perfect the rest of the way through in order to win.
Three perfect sticks later, the team did just that – with senior all-around athlete Halle Theis cementing the win in her final routine despite battling a nagging ankle injury.
“I definitely was very nervous going into it, but I think knowing I could do it and just going up there and being confident helped me so much. I just said, ‘Don’t think about the injury. Just try to go through and worry about it after.’ It worked,” said Theis.
