After finishing third of three teams at the Harley Meet hosted by UW-Whitewater and working through challenges in a dual against UW-Stout, the Gustavus Gymnastics Team traveled to Lindenwood University to get back on track.
Led by a young core, the Gusties produced a season-high score of 184.800.
Two Fridays ago, the Gusties traveled to Milwaukee to compete in a meet alongside UW-Whitewater and UW-Oshkosh.
The highlight of the meet for the Gusties came on the beam, as they posted a season-high score of 45.825.
First-year Annie Corbett led the way for the Black and Gold, turning in a 9.725, which was good for second place both at the meet and was the second best score in school history.
Fellow First-year Ashley Goeltl also performed well with a career high 9.300 on the beam.
“Beam was the best it’s been all year. They went out and did what they are capable of and what they do in practice. Annie’s beam has been solid all year and it capped off a great rotation for us. To be the second highest beam score in school history is incredible as that record has stood for a long time and it’s exciting to be inching toward it,” Head Coach Aryn DeGrood said.
Corbett also finished second in the all-around competition after producing scores of 9.475, 9.325, and 8.775 in the vault, floor and bars, respectively.
Sophomore Brooke Merila also had a solid outing highlighted by scores of 9.300 on the floor and 9.275 on the vault.
“We fought hard on everything and battled back from weird things that happened and made the most out of some difficult situations. Now we need to regroup and refocus on the task at hand and prepare for a double meet next week,” DeGrood said.
The first meet of the week featured a WIAC dual against No. 5 UW-Stout in Menomonie, WI.
First-year Emma Esteb had a strong meet for the Gusties, leading the team in both vault and beam with scores of 9.225 and 9.275, respectively.
As a team, the Gusties tallied 45.350 on vault and 43.000 on beam.
On the floor, Senior Leah Heilig led the way with a 9.425 while the team tallied 45.350. Finally, Corbett led on the bars with a 9.100 while the team scored 40.100.
“It was a tough night but we knew going in it was going to be a battle as we have some illness and injuries we are working through. We got the chance to get people in the line-up that haven’t had that chance before and that’s always good. A lot of the positives we’re taking away are things you can’t see on the score sheet and don’t reflect in the results,” DeGrood said.
Those positives were evident as the Gusties traveled to Missouri to compete in a quad a Lindenwood University and produced a 184.800, the sixth highest score in school history.
The Black and Gold got out to a strong start on the beam behind Corbett’s score of 9.750, which ties a school record that’s held for 21 years.
Heilig and Esteb also scored career highs of 9.625 and 9.475, respectively.
The team score of 47.225 on beam marks a new school record.
“To break 47 on beam for the first time in program history is remarkable. The energy but calm at the same time radiated on beam and it is what the coaches knew they were capable of. They worked together and made magic happen,” DeGrood said.
On the vault, six different Gusties scored above nine to combine for a 46.475. Corbett earned the top score with a 9.575 while Heilig scored 9.325.
Corbett continued to shine on the floor and bars, leading the team with scores of 9.525 and 9.600, respectively. The team scores of 46.050 on the floor and 44.850 on bars rounded out the Gusties’ 184.800.
“Individually, Annie had an outstanding performance. Emma was solid on her three events again. Annie Gladitsch had a career high on beam and is really coming into her own. Sophie Redding finally nailed that bar routine and we know it’s the catalyst she needed,” DeGrood said.
The Gusties head to UW-La Crosse next weekend and look to continue their positive momentum.