Addison Armstrong performs on the balance beam at the Martin County Area Invitational on Jan. 12. The Buc gymnasts posted their highest score of the year in their most recent meet against Worthington. Armstrong finished third in the All-Around in at the Worthington contest.

The Blue Earth Area Buccaneer gymnastics team had their highest score of the season last Tuesday night in Worthington.

Unfortunately, the Worthington girls had some spectacular scoring of their own, and BEA fell by a score of 141.950 to 123.950.

The Bucs were unable to place in the top four spots in the four rotations, but were able to have a third and fourth place finisher in the All-Around.

Addison Armstrong came in with a 32.175 in All-Around for third, while teammate Haley Kalis had a 30.850 for fourth.

Rylan Storbeck was close behind with a 30.800 in All-Around and Ariana Nagel scored a 21.650.

The top score in All-Around went to Worthington’s Gracia Elias with a 36.275, second place to Trojan Kara Thuringer with 34.975.

BEA’s top gymnast in the vault was Armstrong with an 8.475. Kalis had an 8.400, Adrianna Reddick with an 8.250 and Nagel with an 8.200 and Storbeck an 8.100.

Worthington had four gymnasts above BEA’s scores, with Hali Bullerman leading the way with a 9.300.

In the uneven bars, Kalis led the way for the Bucs with a 7.500. Armstrong was right behind with a 7.475 and Storbeck scored 7.150. Jazmyn Lunz scored a 6.650 and Nagel a 6.500.

Worthington had four gymnasts score over 8.000, with Elias leading the way with 8.825.

On the balance beam, it was Armstrong leading the way for the Bucs with the team’s top score. She had an average of 7.925. Storbeck had 7.650, Sydney Blagg a 7.425 and Nagel 6.950.

Again, the Trojans had four gymnasts over 8.000. They were led by Elias with a 9.350.

For the floor exercise, two Buccaneers tied for the team’s top score. Both Armstrong and Kalis came in with identical 8.300 average scores. Storbeck had a 7.900, Reddick a 7.400 and Elizabeth Uecker with a 7.275 to finish up the scoring for the Bucs.

BEA’s Armstrong and Kalis were so close to breaking into the top four scoring as fourth place went to a Trojan gymnast with an 8.375, just .075 higher than the Bucs. Top score was 9.200 by Abby Bristow of Worthington.

Just like the varsity, the junior varsity Buccaneers only placed in the All-Around. Katie Allis had a 24.850 for third, and Peyten Gudahl a 24.050 for fourth.

Blagg had the high score on the vault for the Bucs with an 8.000. Reddick had a 6.1 on the uneven bars to lead BEA, while both Uecker and Amarrah Harris scored identical 6.700 on the balance beam for high score of the team. In floor exercise, Olivia Haaland led the way for the Maroon and Gold with a 7.250.

The final JV score was Worthington 133.850 and BEA 107.750.

MCA Invitational

No place winners at the Martin County Area Invite in Welcome for the Blue Earth Area gymnastics team this past weekend, however, according to head coach Rachel Cole, there were some solid individual scores for this meet.

Where BEA usually has some luck with placing in each individual event competition, it seems there was some heavy competition at the MCA meet.

With MCA, Jackson County Central, Waseca, and Luverne bringing their top athletes to the competition, it gave the Buccaneers a true look into where they can improve their skills.

MCA?earned the home advantage with a total of 136.125, while JCC was runner-up with a team total of 133.25. Waseca placed third with a score of 127.0 and Luverne placed fourth with 123.25 points. BEA’s five-team field score was 120.325 which landed them in fifth.

In vault, the average score to beat was 8.900 set by Anna Bachenberg of MCA, and Buccaneers Haley Kalis and Addison Armstrong came closest with averages of 8.425 and 8.325, however those scores were not enough to place in the event.

The uneven parallel bars was quite a show, and quite the competition for the Maroon and Gold. The highest score was from MCA’s Sabrina Segar at 8.650. The Bucs’ closest bar scores were from Kalis with an average of 7.025, and Armstrong’s 6.650. The Bucs, again, were unable to place.

In beam, the highest average score was set by Waseca’s Hannah Petry with a 9.425 average score. Arianna Nagel was closest to that high average at the meet for BEA earning an average of 7.300 for her team, as well as Armstrong’s 7.100.

The floor was another heated competition for BEA. Average scores that made the top placings were set high at 9.250 by Segar from MCA. BEA’s Kalis was closest with an average of 8.400, with her teammate Armstrong close in average with an 8.225. However, like every other event, BEA was unable to place in the top 5.

As for the All-Around, it was much of the same for BEA. Gymnasts from MCA, Waseca, JCC, and Luverne were able to place in the top five, but BEA was unable to obtain a placing. The highest score was 35.275 in the All-Around category, and the lowest, in fifth place, was 31.600. BEA’s Armstrong earned an All-Around score of 30.000, while Kalis earned 30.300. So close, and yet so far.

Only time will tell to see if the Maroon and Gold can continue to improve their scores throughout the season.