Owatonna gymnastics falls short in sections

Owatonna gymnastics took second place at the Section 1AA meet last week to snap its three-year section title streak and miss out on the state team tournament.

The Huskies managed to set a season-scoring record with 147.050 points, but it was not enough to surpass Lakeville South’s winning total of 147.525.
“We went out, and we threw a high score on bars and on floor – vault we were really close. It was just beam. We had a couple kids who had been really automatic all year long that fell and then we really couldn’t dig out of the hole. We were right there, like five-tenths off – literally less than a fall. If we make one more routine, we’re having a different conversation,” said Owatonna head coach Evan Moe.

The day started strong for the Huskies with a season-high 37.375 total on the floor to give the team an early lead.

Senior Emma Johnson qualified for the state meet as an individual with a 9.525-point routine that was the second highest in the entire meet.

After dominating the floor, Owatonna turned its sights to its most consistent event: the vault.

No Husky scored less than a 9.200 in all five routines, proving how strong the team’s vault is en route to securing 37.925 points.

Owatonna had four of the top five vault routines at the meet and qualified Jozie Johnson, Emma Johnson, Halle Theis, and Johanna Spielman for the state meet as individuals in the event.

Bars were next on the agenda for the Huskies.

Owatonna managed 35.625 behind a stellar 9.200-point routine from eighth-grade standout Delia Neumann to keep itself in contention for the win with just the balance beam event remaining.

Neumann’s performance punched her ticket to state as an individual.

Lakeville South competed in the vault for its final event, while Owatonna was in between competition rounds, allowing the team to understand it needed 36.830 points or more to take the lead over Lakeville South for the section title.

Neumann was first up on the beam for Owatonna, and while she did not fall, some near-falls shaved points off her routine and immediately put the pressure on Owatonna to be perfect through the rest of their routines.

Following Neumann was Averie Roush, who started strong, but lost her balance and went down, knocking points off what was an otherwise solid routine.

Owatonna’s Kendra Miller, Chloe Myer, and Theis all finished with nine points or higher in their routines; however, the team’s 36.350 total was not enough to close the gap as the Cougars went on to win by .475 points.

Miller’s beam routine of 9.200 earned her a trip to state and won her a tie-breaker over Myer, who also scored a 9.200.

Finishing high up on the podium as well was Owatonna’s Theis, who excelled in all events at the meet.

Theis’s 36.725-point total in the all-around event earned her third place and qualified her for state in all four events.

All Owatonna state individual qualifiers will compete at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul on Saturday, Feb. 24, beginning at 6 p.m.