GYMNASTICS: Huskies flip past Trojans by 10.8

WORTHINGTON — Jackson County Central wanted the school record.

Looking for a score better than the previous record of 144.2, the Huskies came up just short of the record, but still pulled out a victory Tuesday night in a gymnastics meet against Worthington.

JCC finished with a score of 142.325 on the night, while Worthington came in with a 131.475.

“We’ve hit the 143 mark a couple of times, but I’m certainly not going to complain about a 142, that’s for sure,” JCC head coach Tammy Handevidt said. “They were trying to aim for the school record, which is a 144.2, but I think we can do that if we pull some of the falls out of the bars and beam.”

The Huskies outscored the Trojans on every rotation, but scored 35.675 on the balance beam, compared to Worthington’s 30.0.

“We had a really good meet,” Worthington head coach Joni Reitmeier said. “Again, we struggled on the beam, which is no surprise, I guess. It’s kind of been our wounded leg all winter. That’s just the way it goes.

“One hundred thirty-one is a good score for us; it could have been better if we would have stayed on the beam, as always. Then we’re looking at the 135- or 136-range, which is right where we need to be.”

The Huskies scored more than 36 points on both the floor and the vault, but had 35 on the beam and 33.825 on the uneven bars.

“We had a pretty good vault round tonight,” Handevidt said. “Our floors seemed pretty good. We’ve been trying to keep those consistent rounds and prevent the falls. We had a few falls on bars and beam, but overall I was very pleased with the performance.”

Leading the Huskies’ charge was Briel Hendricksen.

The junior finished in the top three in every event and won the all-around competition with a score of 35.95.

Teammate Brandi Sether-Hassing finished second in the all-around with a 35.575, while Worthington’s Lynn Harberts finished third with a 33.275.

JCC’s Courtney Donnelli won the vault with a score of 9.15, while Hendricksen was second with a 9.1. Sydnee Donnelli was third with a 9.05.

Sydnee Donnelli (8.7) finished first on the bars, and Hendricksen and Worthington’s Taylor Erwin tied for second with an 8.525. Harberts and JCC’s Adriane Rentschler tied for third with an 8.325.

Sether-Hassing (9.25), Daphne Cleberg (8.95) and Hendricksen (8.75) finished in first, second and third, respectively, on the beam.

“We work and work and work at (the beam),” Reitmeier said. “I think still it’s a confidence issue, and our girls aren’t confident that they can do it so we have a lot of falls. Otherwise, we had major improvement on the vaults, and obviously our floor is really good. It’s just one of those things, and we just have to keep plugging away and end strong at the end of the season.”

Hendricksen finished first on the floor with a score of 9.575, while Sydnee Donnelli and Sether-Hassing tied for second with a 9.15. Erwin was third with a 9.075.

“Jackson is an excellent team,” Reitmeier said. “They are one of the top teams in our section and they have a strong JV and varsity. They are on the upscale of their talent, and every team seems to cycle that way. We just expected to go out and do Worthington gymnastics, and I think we did that.”

In the junior varsity competition, the Huskies scored 131.4, while Worthington finished with a 107.3.

The Trojans will travel to Pipestone Area Friday.

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