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It was a dream come true for the 2015-16 Dodgeville-Mineral Point gymnastics team to be the first in school(s) history to appear at the WIAA State Tournament.
They really didn't care that they came in seeded 10th out of 10 teams in D2 and that's where they finished with 124.8 points - without injured senior Tori Palzkill, who was a previous state competitor. They were there competing on Friday for the first time!
Powerful Whitefish Bay won the event with 140.5667 points to runner-up River Falls at 135.8833. Mount Horeb was close behind in 3rd with 135.5167.
Then came Viroqua/Cash-ton/North Crawford 133.45, Ashland 132.75, Grants-burg/Luck/Unity 132.3833, Waupun 130.1667, Rice Lake/Cumberland 127.1167, Platteville/Belmont/Lan-caster 126.9, Dodgeville-Mineral Point 124.8.
Dodge-Point scores by event
Beam
Ana Peterson (9) 5.683
Sasha Paiva (9) 5.967
Claire Polinag (12) 7.367
Alyssa Belling (10) 7.3
Lauren May (10) 8.383
Floor
Katlyn Yingst (9) 6.667
Sasha Paiva 7.917
Claire Polinag (12) 8.033
Alyssa Belling (10) 8.33
Lauren May (10) 8.633
Bars
Ana Peterson (9) 6.533
Katlyn Yingst (9) 5.033
Sasha Paiva (9) 6.533
Alyssa Belling (10) 7.633
Lauren May (10) 8.5
Vault
Ana Peterson (9) 7.933
Sasha Paiva (9) 8.067
Marissa Parkin (11) 8.633
Alyssa Belling (10) 8.467
Lauren May (10) 8.5
Two Dodge-Point gymnasts qualified individually for Saturday competition.
Sophomore Lauren May finished 19th in All Around with a 33.483 total. She scored 8.63 on floor (17th), 7.95 on balance beam (16th), 8.33 on vault (25th) and 8.33 on uneven bars (13th).
Another sophomore, Alyssa Belling qualified on beam and scored an 8.05 that was good for 20th individually.
"I was so happy that both the Dodgeville and Mineral Point Schools celebrated the gymnasts success," said Dodge-Point coach Julia Oellerich. "The send off at the Dodgeville Elementary School was special for all of the girls and the "Little D" Dodgers. The support from both communities was outstanding."
"As with any state competition, the atmosphere is electric, exciting and can be a bit overwhelming for those who've never experienced it before. The gym is bigger, the crowds are larger and louder, and there is so much going on around you. But the girls handled it very well. They gave it their all and that was all we asked of them."
About her two Saturday individual performers she sadi, "Lauren May and Alyssa Belling had solid performances during the individual portion of the state competition. Lauren and Alyssa started on beam and both had no fall performances. Lauren continued to compete on the floor, vault, bars and all around. Lauren competed well but the competition at the state level is unbelievable. The team saw what it takes to compete on that level and is motivated to work hard over the summer to improve their skills."
"I am so proud of what this team has accomplished this season and want to send a special thanks to our seniors, Tori Palzkill, Claire Polinag, and Hannah Mettlach. They've been great leaders this year and have been instrumental in helping us achieve our dream of competing at the State competition. You'll all be missed!!"
Oellerich concluded by saying, "Hopefully this is the start of something special with the Dodge/Point Gymnastics Team!"