Tailor Douglas performs on the vault during a meet in Blue Earth. Douglas placed second on the team in the vault at BEA’s meet at St. Peter.

The Blue Earth Area gymnasts traveled to Gustavus Adolphus College to face the St. Peter Saints at a meet held on Tuesday, Dec. 19.

The Bucs came home with a team score of 125.650 to St. Peter’s 132.1.

Head coach Rachel Cole commented, “The girls were consistent this week – scores just differed by a few tenths here and there.” 

She added, “The major improvement was on beam. We only had to count three falls, and the girls just looked calmer and more confident.” 

The Bucs’ team score on beam was 29.9, with Tailor Douglas leading the way with a 7.95. She was followed by Addison Armstrong’s 7.675 and Addy Olson’s 7.375. Lauren Survis finished with a 6.9 and Rachel Sohn scored a 5.4.

BEA tallied a 33.625 on vault. Armstrong’s leap landed an 8.675, and first place, while Douglas secured second place with an 8.5. Olson’s 8.45 score was good for third place.

Survis’s vault tallied an 8.0, and Taylynn Amundson scored a 7.975.

The Bucs swung a 29.475 on bars. Armstrong’s routine earned a 7.925 while Douglas’s earned a 7.525. Olson scored a 7.325, Lizzy Uecker scored a 6.7 and Natalie Griffey scored a 6.625.

On floor, BEA landed a 32.65, and Armstrong’s routine placed second with a 9.025. Olson earned an 8.5 and Uecker earned a 7.575.

Survis finished with a 7.55, meanwhile, and Amundson tallied a 6.95.

Armstrong’s performance on Tuesday night earned her a third-place slot in the All-Around, with a score of 33.3. Her teammate Olson secured a 31.65 in the All-Around.

Cole also noted that the junior varsity Bucs have had a very successful start to the season.

“Our JV girls still remain undefeated,” she said.

The Bucs secured first, second and third place in the junior varsity All-Around, with Cassandra Hagedorn’s 26.9 taking first, Kyannah Brandt’s 26.35 taking second, and Ella Schonborn’s 25.3 taking third.

“We are excited for the little break in our schedule so we can start working on a few new skills, and hopefully debut them during the stretch of home meets we have coming up,” Cole concluded.

The first of those home meets will be against New Ulm on Thursday, Jan. 4.

Just two days later, on Saturday, Jan. 6, BEA will travel to Fairmont for a tournament against the host Magic gymnasts and Jackson County Central High School.

MCA 130.15,

BEA 124.875

The Buccaneers faced the Martin County Magic gymnasts for a meet on Thursday, Dec. 14.

Fairmont’s gymnasts apparently worked their magic at Fairmont’s Live Fit Gymnasium that evening, departing the meet with a team score of 130.15 to Blue Earth Area’s 124.875.

BEA head coach Rachel Cole reflected, “It wasn’t a great meet, but overall, we improved on every event except beam, which is a big struggle for us.” 

She added, “That’s where we finished the night, so it masked the small victories.”

On beam, the Bucs finished with a team score of 28.125. Addison Armstrong placed second in the event with a 7.95.

Armstrong was followed by teammates Tailor Douglas and Addy Olson, who scored a 6.85 and 6.8. Rachel Sohn ended the event with a 6.5 and Lauren Survis finished with a 6.0.

Cole shared that Douglas, a junior, landed a personal-best score on vault on Dec. 14 – an 8.875 which was good for third place.

As a team, the Bucs scored 34.3 for the event, with Douglas topping her teammates’ scores. Armstrong was behind her with an 8.75, and Olson earned an 8.675. Survis landed an 8.1, while Taylynn Amundson scored a 7.85.

Cole also reported that senior Lizzy Uecker improved her floor score by a point, ending the meet with a 7.7 in the event.

BEA earned a 32.4 on floor as a team, with Armstrong’s routine garnering a score of 9.1 and a second-place finish. Olson scored an 8.15, while Amundson and Survis earned a 7.45 and 7.35, respectively.

Finally, on bars, the Bucs swung a team score of 29.95. Armstrong secured third place with a score of 7.8.

Douglas’s routine was good for a 7.6 while Olson’s tallied a 7.45. Uecker scored a 7.1 on bars, and Natalie Griffey scored a 6.8.

Armstrong placed second in the all-around with a 33.6. Olson’s all-around score, meanwhile, was a 31.075.

“We had seventh grader Natalie Griffey and senior Rachel Sohn competing in varsity events for the first time, and they both did very well,” Cole concluded. “And, we finished the night without any injuries.”