Austin's Fadness wins state title, leads Packers gymnasts at individuals

Worried and nervous entering competition at the University of Minnesota’s Sports Pavilion on Saturday, Austin gymnast Sela Fadness was able to breathe calmly and bask in post-performance glory afterward.

Fadness hauled in four medals at the Class A state individuals competition, including becoming the first Packers individual champion at state since 2002.

“I’m so excited, I don’t think it’s quite hit me yet,” Fadness said after collecting co-champion honors in floor exercise, scoring a 9.65. “I wanted to pull it off with the win (outright), but tying with Hailey Brinkman is such an honor. She is such a good gymnast.”

A Melrose Area senior, Brinkman dominated the entire competition today. But Fadness could take pride in her and teammate Abby Bickler’s performances Saturday, as well as the accomplishments she envisions the pair claiming next season.

“With it being [Brinkman’s] senior year, hopefully next year I can come back and me and Abby can do some more damage on the podium,” Fadness said

Bickler had reasons to be ecstatic about her performance as well. After tearing a ligament in her left ankle a week before state last year, she took advantage of having good health this year.

The Packers freshman also claimed a medal on Saturday.

“It’s amazing,” Bickler said of achieving fourth place in floor exercise. “To know where I was last year and that I can come to this point and make it back is just one of the most amazing feelings I could ever have.”

Fadness and Bickler buoyed Coach Mark Raymond’s Austin squad this weekend. Besides the five medals Saturday, the Packers finished fifth in team competition Friday.

Following the award ceremony after Saturday’s individual competition, the 15^th-year head coach of the Packers proudly reflected on his gymnasts’ efforts.

“They did a great job,” Raymond said. “I’m really proud of the way they conducted themselves today. It was very business-like, they weren’t distracted, they did what they were supposed to do and it really paid off for them.”

Along with freshman Carolyn Hackel, Fadness and Bickler have developed a strong and youthful nucleus to the team, which excelled on Saturday and can only get better.

“The three of them together push each other real hard on all four events, and that little bit of internal competition has made them as good as they are,” Raymond said of his top three gymnasts. “They have to fight for first, second and third amongst each other every time we go to a dual meet, and without that I’m not sure we would’ve got those last couple tenths today in order to be considered in the top five at state.”

Bickler said she first met Fadness two years ago as a seventh-grader. The two formed a bond together, as well as a friendly rivalry. Fadness competed with a club team in Pine Island last year but the two have been back at it together again this year – something Bickler said she’s very pleased with.

“We’ve gotten pretty close and it’s always good for me to have her to keep myself going,” she said. “It’s awesome to have her back in the gym (at Austin), so we’ve had great experiences as friends as well as teammates.”

Austin’s gymnasts were represented by a large fan base this weekend. Approximately 200 friends, family and students made the more-than-100-mile trek to support their Packers.

Bickler said her school filled two fan buses. She said she’s never seen so much student fan support before and that having that aura this weekend was tremendous.

“The fan support from our school and our community is just amazing,” Bickler said. “To have them in the crowd and being loud, it always gets us pumped up and ready to go. It’s awesome to know that people are there for you.”

Fadness and Bickler were Austin’s lone medalists. Freshman Hackel and eighth-grader Logan Tischer also competed as individuals for the Packers on Saturday.

Complementing her first place floor performance, Fadness posted a third-place finish in vault (with a score of 9.575), came in fourth in uneven bars (9.5) and finished third in all-around competition with a 37.75.

Bickler’s fourth place score in floor was 9.45. She scored a 9.175 in the vault, 8.775 on bars and 8.475 on the beam - placing her at 16^th in all-around.

Hackel placed 20^th in floor with a 9.15 and 22^nd in bars (8.6).

Tischer competed in just one event, floor, where she posted an 8.25.

Other Class A, section one competitors included Pine Island sophomore Siera McNallan, Stewartville junior Kelsi Matuska, Byron-Lourdes junior Jillian Krier and La Crescent junior Haley Traun.

McNallan finished 13^th in all-around competition – scoring a 9.35 on vault, 9.25 on floor, 9.025 in bars and 8.65 on the beam.

Matuska placed 25^th in the all-around, her top score being a 9.25 on floor.

Melrose Area’s Brinkman was the day’s overall champion, claiming top honors in floor, beam and uneven bars. Her all-around score of 38.15 topped second place Jessica Stelter (of Detroit Lakes) by .175 points. Fadness finished .225 points behind Stelter. Both Brinkman and Stelter are seniors.

**I wrote this story for the Rochester Post-Bulletin and Austin Post-Bulletin. It's coverage of the 2012 Class A state individual competition on Saturday, Feb. 22 2012 at the University of Minnesota's Sports Pavilion.

**The photos were shot and submitted by Post-Bulletin photographer Joe Michaud-Scorza. Descriptions of the photos (from top-to-bottom) are as follows: Austin sophomore Sela Fadness performing her floor routine, Austin freshman Carolyn Hackel competing in uneven bars, Hackel executing her vault dismount. Please visit Joe's photo blog at joescorza.blogspot.com.

Austin Packers gymnastics take fifth place at state in Class A team competition

The section 1A champion Austin Packers gymnastics team finished in fifth place at the Class A State Meet today in Minneapolis, at the University of Minnesota’s Sports Pavilion.

Austin topped the competition in its first event, the floor exercise, and was in second place at the meet’s halfway point. The team did not fare as well in the other events, but team captain Abigayle Snater was satisfied with her team’s performance overall.

“We definitely didn’t have our best day as a team, but some of the girls individually went out there and hit it,” Snater said. “I think we’re just proud of the team’s effort.”

One of those individuals who “hit it” was Austin’s Sela Fadness.

Despite earning the top scores for her team in both the floor and vault, the sophomore said she could’ve done better with each of them. However, she was able to feel a strong sense of accomplishment with her uneven bars routine.

“Bars is my favorite event, but it’s not always my best event and this season it’s proven to be my lowest-scoring event,” Fadness said. “So after hitting that bar routine and hitting that score I was really happy.”

Fadness’ score in the uneven bars was 8.575, the best score of her career in this event. Her scores on the floor and vault were 9.55 and 9.40, respectively.

As a team, Austin scored a 37.35 in the floor exercise. The team’s scores on the other events were not as strong – the Packers posted a 36.10 in vault, 34.35 in uneven bars and 34.225 on balance beam.

The team’s overall score was 142.025 – good for fifth out of eight teams.

“It shows where our program’s strengths are, and our team’s weakness,” Coach Mark Raymond said. “Unfortunately the other three events aren’t pulling their own weight.”

Overall, considering Austin’s average team score entering state was 142, Raymond was happy with his team’s effort today.

“You get to the state meet and the scores get a little bit tighter, so usually you see your score go down just a little bit,” he said. “Ours probably stayed about where we’re at. So I was pretty happy with the girls’ performance today.”

Fadness’ effort on the uneven bars was definitely a highlight of the day.

In her performance, Austin’s standout gymnast executed two releases – a move where the gymnast releases her hands off one bar and catches the other bar – a feat rarely attempted and accomplished in one routine.

“She’s worked really hard at bringing her bar set up,” Raymond said of his pupil. “It’s a great set, it’s kind of unique; not a lot of other girls use two release skills and she separates herself with [that].”

Raymond – who’s in his 15^th year as Austin’s head coach – was pleased with his team today but also knows it can improve next year.

Besides senior Marissa Bartels, Austin will return its entire team. With a fifth place finish under its belt, the expectations have been raised for next year.

When asked about his team’s goals at state for 2013, Raymond didn’t want to put his team behind the eight ball but admitted that it has to be a championship.

“I think if you can’t say [you can win a championship], you definitely can’t do it; so I guess I have to go on the record and say that,” Raymond said.

“Looking at what we did this year and what we’re bringing back next year, we have to say we want to be at the top of the podium at the end of the year next year,” he added.

Melrose Area High School won the Class A team competition today with a cumulative score of 147.5, unseating defending eight-time champion Perham in the process.

Does this mean other teams will have a better chance of winning the championship now?

“All it does is make a lot more teams hungry,” Raymond said. “Melrose is bringing back a great team next year, so they’ll be the defending champ and the team to beat.”

Although Austin’s team competition is over with, the Packers have four gymnasts participating in Class A individual competition tomorrow.

Fadness and Bickler are two of these individuals. Joining them will be freshman Carolyn Hackel and eighth-grader Logan Tischer.

**I wrote this story for the Rochester Post-Bulletin and Austin Post-Bulletin. It's coverage on the Austin Packers gymnastics team in the Class A State Meet team competition on Friday, Feb. 24 2012 at the University of Minnesota's Sports Pavilion.

**The photos were shot and contributed by Post-Bulletin photographer Joe Michaud-Scorza. Descriptions of the photos (from top-to-bottom) are as follows: Austin sophomore Sela Fadness performing her uneven bars routine, Austin junior Abigayle Snater competing in vault. Please visit Joe's photo blog at joescorza.blogspot.com

Pine Island’s Schmidt gets beam surprise at State

When Pine Island gymnast Brittany Schmidt landed the final dismount of her gymnastics career, a slight grimace emerged upon her face.

“I just thought I could do better,” she said of her balance beam routine at the State Class A individual meet, Saturday at the University of Minnesota’s Sports Pavilion.

After sticking her beam finish, Schmidt was greeted and consoled by her coach, Chris Templeton. The two rejoined the other Panthers gymnasts as the remainder of 1A rotation of the beam competition resumed.

About an hour later, at the awards ceremony, Schmidt was seated with her teammates on the floor exercise mat as the winners were announced. Templeton stood nearby, unsuspecting any of his athletes earning medals - which would mean top six finishes in each gymnast’s respective events.

But then it came. Schmidt was announced as the fifth place medalist in balance beam.

“[It’s] nothing that I can explain, it was just overwhelming,” said the Pine Island senior, describing the moment her name was called.

“I was very surprised,” Schmidt said. “I just never thought I would place at state.”

Templeton was shocked as well, pumping his fist with pride. He described his pupil’s performance minutes before Schmidt had stepped atop the wooden platform adorned with a brown No. 5.

“Bars are her event,” Templeton said. “She took a fall on that, so she was very disappointed.”
When a gymnast falls, an automatic 0.5-point deduction is applied to her score. Schmidt’s uneven bars score was an 8.30, meriting an 18th place finish.

“In order for her to come back, re-gather herself and stick her beam the way that she did, it really speaks to the maturity that she has,” Templeton said. “Beam was her last event as a high school gymnast and she stuck it.”

Schmidt’s score on balance beam was 9.15.

Pine Island had three other gymnasts competing Saturday - Chelsie Glabe, Siera McNallan and Brenna Ruegg. McNallan and Ruegg each nabbed ninth-place finishes - McNallan in floor exercise (posting a 9.30), Ruegg in vault (9.425).

Schmidt’s medal was the first Pine Island captured at State since 2008, when Sarah Lerum earned three medals - placing third in floor, fourth in all-around and fifth in bars. Saturday was also the first time in Pine Island history that three gymnasts earned top ten finishes.

Other Rochester area Class A girls who competed were Austin’s Abby Bickler and Selena Hataye; Megan Lawson and Laura Mesenburg of Byron-Lourdes; Rochelle Thesing (LaCresent); and Hope Stremcha (Caledonia/Spring Grove/Houston).

Thesing earned a sixth-place medal in the all-around competition (with a score of 36.35), she also nearly earned a second (finishing seventh in bars, 9.0).


Pair of Mayo gymnasts compete in Class AA floor and vault
Hours after Class A concluded, a new crop of gymnasts stretched out and chalked up their hands in preparation for State AA individual competition.

Rochester Mayo seniors Leah Butterbaugh and Kayla Wiltrout competed in the floor exercise and vault events, respectively.

Butterbaugh performed first, as the fifth competitor in the first rotation (of eight) in floor. She executed her routine very well according to her Mayo coaches, Abby Siems and Dan Christy, among others.

Thus her score, a 9.2, befuddled them.

“The scores didn’t reflect what we thought she earned,” Siems said. “But that’s how gymnastics goes and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

A teary-eyed Butterbaugh also thought she deserved better. After accomplishing a career-high 9.65 at sections, her grade at State was tough to take.

“I think I did a good routine, except in my last [tumble] pass I piked out a little bit and that may have brought it down,” she said. “I felt I should have gotten a higher score, but that’s how it is.”

The suspect scoring aside, Butterbaugh’s coach approved her effort.

“Getting here [to State] is an accomplishment, she has a lot to be proud of even if it didn’t meet her expectations or what we had hoped for,” Siems said.

Approximately forty minutes after Butterbaugh’s floor exhibition, on the other side of the Pavilion was Wiltrout, who had her sights set on the vault.

Each vault competitor had two attempts. Christy explained there are three types of finishes a gymnast can attempt after she springs off the pommel horse - a tuck, pike and a layout, where the legs are either tucked in, slightly bent or straight out. Each having its own degree of difficulty.

A flawlessly executed tuck merits a 9.6, a perfect pike nets a 9.8, and an unblemished layout must be performed to achieve a 10.

In Wiltrout’s case, she went with her bread-and-butter, a pike, on her first attempt and a layout on the second. The results were 9.50 and 9.525, respectively. Christy said Wiltrout’s layout was something he and her had been working on all year but only used in competition in her last couple meets.

“I’ve been working on that Tsuk for a while,” said Wiltrout of her layout attempt, which included a Tsukahara (a midair move involving a half turn off the springboard onto the horse and a push backward into a flip). “It’s my last meet, so I went all out and hoped for the best.”

Wiltrout’s scores landed her in 15th place, which satisfied the Spartans senior. She said reaching State was something she had strived for since first entering high school.

“When you set a goal and say you want to make State and you make State, that’s a good year no matter how you look at it,” Christy said.


**This story was written for the Rochester Post-Bulletin. It's coverage of Rochester area high schools for Minnesota Class A and Class AA State gymnastics meet.
**Photos were taken by Post-Bulletin photographer, Jack Boder