Owatonna gymnastics heads back to state

Owatonna’s gymnastics program earned a trip back to state after winning its second consecutive Section 1AA title – the team’s fifth in the last six years – last weekend in Rochester.

The team posted 143.825 points to beat out Lakeville South (143.650) and Lakeville North (143.175), earning it the right to defend its 2025 state at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul.

“I’m not sure I can put it into words the season that we’ve had. We’ve battled through five season-ending injuries… the fact that they were able to lose five varsity teammates and still go out there and win a section title and go back to state, it’s a testament to how talented these girls are and how hard they work,” said Owatonna Head Coach Kiana Starks.

Starks was recently selected as the Co-Big Nine Conference Head Coach of the Year alongside Jason Smith, who was also recognized as the Co-Big Nine Conference Assistant Coach of the Year.

Owatonna’s big day at sections started on the beam where the team recovered well from some early stumbles.

Reigning state individual beam champion Delia Neumann was unable to keep her balance on the beam during her first routine of the day, not only knocking her out of qualifying for the event at state, but quickly putting the Huskies behind their usual pointing marks.

When Owatonna freshman Ellie Blum stepped up to the bar to perform next, she recalled there being nerves watching the uber-talented Neumann fall, but Blum did not let the pressure of the moment get to her head.

Instead, Owatonna’s standout freshman stuck a 9.450-point statement routine that catapulted the Huskies’ confidence.

“It was really stressful going into the routine, but I got up there with confidence and I knew that I can do all of the skills I’m performing… When I got done with my tumbling, I felt really good and I knew that it was just the dismount. I had been struggling with it recently, but I went for it and I stuck it. It felt so good knowing the routine helped our team a lot,” said Blum.

Her 9.450 also set a personal record, earned her second place in the event at the meet, and qualified her for the state individual beam competition.

Owatonna went on to finish the beam with 36.150 points before taking the floor next.

Whatever nerves or stresses the team felt on the beam completely disappeared in the next event as the Huskies went on to score their highest point total of the day by racking up a 37.100.

The team was led by a trio of stellar routines from Kendra Miller, Paige Hullopeter and Neumann, all of whom placed fourth through sixth in the event.

Miller and Hullopeter led the way with matching 9.375 scores while Neumann was right behind them with a 9.250.

“Floor was such a big confidence builder. Delia and I both fell on the beam, but we were able to put it in the past and keep moving forward. It was great to know we could do that because we knew it was going to be a really close meet,” said Miller.

The three scores helped Owatonna build its lead but, also qualified the three Huskies for the state individual floor exercise competition as well.

The Huskies took to the vault next where Miller and Hullopeter led the team again.

Miller threw a top team score of 9.275 for fourth with Hullopeter’s 9.200 right behind in fifth.

The result was enough to earn both Huskies the right to perform at the state vault competition, while also helping Owatonna accrue 36.350 team points in the event.

The team took to the uneven bars for the final event in what was shaping up to be a close finish for first.

“We knew like a relative score that would be good, but we were all competing at the same time, so I was more focused on how we were doing than what the Lakeville teams were doing,” said Starks on the meet scoring heading into the last event.

When it mattered most, Owatonna hit some of its best bars performances.

Neumann’s 9.200 led the Huskies’ pack and earned her third place in the meet, but it was also a critical pointing performance as Lakeville South’s Piper Keith (9.500) and Lakeville North’s Anna Ruppert (9.325) both scored the top two routines.

Every point mattered heading into the final performances and it was Owatonna’s Hullopeter that came in clutch again by taking sixth in the event with 8.575 points to help cement the Huskies’ lead.

After the final routines had finished on the mats, Owatonna heard its name read aloud as section champions with its 143.825-point total.

The team’s accomplishment earned it the right to compete next at the MSHSL state gymnastics meet at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul on Friday, Feb. 20 at 11 a.m.

“I don’t think there’s another team in the state that could lose five athletes on their roster to injuries and accomplish what we have. We worked so hard. Girls did skills that they were scared of just to make the starting lineup… We just need to be confident in ourselves. We can have the best meet of our lives, but it just takes confidence. We have a really young team, so a lot of the girls haven’t been in this environment. It’s really important to stay calm and know what we’re capable of doing,” said Miller.