Blue Earth Area seventh grader Haley Kalis flies through the air in the vault competition last week on Jan. 4 during the meet against Jackson County Central.

It was another defeat for the Blue Earth Area gymnastics team this past Jan. 4, in Winnebago, against Jackson County Central. JCC turned out a team total score of 138.75 to the Bucs’ 115.575.

For the varsity team, in their floor routines, all top three scores went to the visiting JCC team. Hailey Handeridt of JCC earned first place with a 9.325.

The highest scoring Buccaneer for the category was Melissa Hagedorn who earned an 8.9, just shy of third place winner Kenzie Luebben, of JCC, who earned a 9.0.

In the beam it was no different, JCC?took first, second and third with Handeridt taking first with a 9.3. Hagedorn, again, earned the highest average for the Bucs in this event with a 7.15, still quite a ways from the JCC Huskies student Brooklyn Schuett’s 9.0 third place score.

The vault competition was fierce and a close test to each gymnast on both teams. Again, JCC earned all top three places with Sydney Sadusky, of JCC, earning first with an average of 8.825. BEA?senior, Hagedorn, was closest to earning a place in the top three, receiving an average of 8.425, just shy of JCC student Hachelle Carson, who earned third with an 8.7 average.

As for the uneven bars event, there was no change in the line up. First, second, and third place went to the visiting team with Kendell Kapplinger earning first with an 8.6. The Buccaneers were unable to keep up with the Huskies’ high scores, but Haley Kalis earned the highest average score on the bars for BEA with a 6.45, still a ways from third placed Hailey Handeridt’s average score of 8.1.

However, as it has been done before, it was Hagedorn and Kalis’ momentum that helped them both out in the all-around category. Though first place went to JCC’s Handeridt, with a total score of 35.525, Hagedorn earned second in the all-around with a total of 30.725, while teammate Kalis was close behind, earning third in all-around, with a score of 29.575.

The Buccaneer’s JV?team, too, fell victim to the gnarly bite of the JCC Huskies, earning a team total of 90.9 to the Huskies’ 127.55 team total.

Perhaps the next meet, on Tuesday, Jan. 9 at 3:15 p.m. in Windom will give the Bucs an opportunity to further their progress through the season.