Huskies Gymnastics hosts Senior Night

Owatonna Assistant Coach Kiana Starks, middle right, hugs senior captains Jozie Johnson, far left, Averie Roush, middle left, and Halle Theis, far right. Starks gave an emotional speech before the team’s Senior Night meet, commemorating the senior captains. Staff photo by Johnnie Phillips
Laughter, smiles and plenty of tears were all on display for Owatonna gymnastics Senior Night meet last week.
The Huskies hosted a quad with Red Wing, Mankato East and Mankato West and came out on top with 143.525 points.
Owatonna has three seniors on roster in Halle Theis, Jozie Johnson and Averie Roush, but only Roush was able to compete during the big night as Theis and Johnson continue to recover from injuries.
“It was really fun. Especially getting thrown into vault at the last second. It was really fun to go out and compete again after being held out for a month. Having the culture that we have as a team makes it special,” said Roush on her return to action.
Roush wasn’t the only one excited to see her name in the lineup.
Her teammates erupted when she stuck her first landing on the vault.
Owatonna Head Coach Evan Moe was also smiling watching his senior veteran make her return.
“They’re huge for us. They’ve been through multiple section championships, state teams and Big Nine Conference titles. Since they’ve been here I think we’ve lost one dual meet. Halle, Jozie and Averie are great competitors and a huge part of our lineups, but they’re even better people,” said Moe on his senior captains.
With Theis still recovering from injury, Owatonna’s Delia Neumann stepped in as the team’s all-around athlete.
The freshman shined in her opportunity, finishing second amongst all gymnasts with a 36.150-point day.
Owatonna excelled in all events, scoring a 35.300 on vault, 34.975 on bars, 36.550 on the beam and a 36.700 on the floor.
Later in the week, Owatonna traveled to Northfield and won 138.175-131.950 in a dual with the Raiders.
Neumann once again shined as the all-around athlete and finished in first place with 35.700 points.
The Huskies’ next competition will be a dual meet at Faribault on Friday, Jan. 24 at 6:30 p.m.