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by Levi Zimmerman
The 2021-22 winter sports season has been a complete joy to follow, and I felt this way before the postseason even began.
The amount of success our area teams and players have had has been nothing short of incredible.
On Thursday, I traveled to Richland Center to cover the Mineral Point vs. Aquinas girls basketball sectional semifinal, where the #1 ranked Pointers pulled out a 63-55 win over a very good Blugolds team led by a pair of Division 1 commits.
On Friday, I made the long trek to Wisconsin Rapids to follow the Dodgeville/Mineral Point/Iowa-Grant gymnastics team compete in the State Gymnastics Championships.
It was my first time attending the state meet, and it was so neat watching all of the talented gymnasts compete in events that take such a high level of skill, especially the balance beam and uneven bars.
I watched seniors Elsa Nelson, Savannah Vivian and Ashlie Baumgartner perform their final events of their high school career, as tears streamed down their faces, realizing that was it, but what better way to end a career than on the big stage.
This was the first time in program history D/MP/I-G qualified for state as a team.
Also on Friday, Mineral Point boys defeated Fennimore 54-51 thanks to a three-point buzzer-beater by senior Dominik McVay, which was his second game-winning shot of the season and the team's fourth.
On Saturday, the Pointers won their regional final over Cuba City 61-46, completing a season sweep of the Cubans.
Also on Saturday, I traveled to Fall River to watch the Barneveld boys basketball team compete in a regional final.
The Golden Eagles fell just short, losing 57-55, and it was an exciting game to watch, as Barneveld trailed by 15 points and fought back.
The day before, Barneveld upset #1 Faith Christian 56-36, which was not expected, but coach Tyler Sullivan has done a great job developing that team into a future contender.
Best of luck to the Mineral Point girls in their second straight trip to state and also to the Highland girls in their first ever trip to state.
Look out for a season recap from The Dodgeville Chronicle sports department highlighting all the success our area has had.