Two team scoring records were broken at the state gymnastics meet in Watertown this past weekend. Estelline/Hendricks broke the mark in Class A, while Harrisburg, who also won their first ever state gymnastics team title, broke the record in Class AA.
The Redhawks finished the team competition with a combined score of 145.933. This breaks the Class AA record of 145.9 set by Deuel in 2013. For the Tigers, their score of 152.983 topped O’Gorman’s record of 152.449 from 2005.
Sioux Falls Washington still owns the all-time state team scoring record for gymnastics with a total of 158.23-points, but this was before there was any sort of classification system with the sport in the state. That Warriors team from 1974 was coached by South Dakota Sports Hall of Famer Lolly Forseth, who would go on to become the first female athletic director in state history at Sioux Falls Lincoln.
For Estelline/Hendricks, claiming the Class A record from Deuel, who is also a powerhouse in gymnastics, is special.
“It feels really good. You just keep working, you just want to have fun and improve as the season goes,” said Redhawks head coach Sherri Johnson. “Obviously when you get a state title it’s surreal and unbelievable, but we just had a really solid season. We just knew if we could take care of business, we had a good shot of getting that next title.”
Coach Johnson mentioned the rivalry with Deuel and how there’s a banner in the Deuel gym with the Class A scoring record on it from 2013.
“I didn’t honestly think we got it. We had a great day, but I didn’t think we were quite there,” mentioned Johnson. “So that was such a pleasant surprise, and fun for the girls to get to have that record. It was just exciting. It’s just one of those fun, celebratory moments. It’s just a credit to the girls and the hard work they put in, and trying to build a tradition of hard work, good attitudes, and stuff like that, so it’s pretty fun.”
Harrisburg’s record-breaking performance on Friday was similar to Estelline-Hendricks, as it too was filled with excitement. But for the Tigers, it meant a little bit more to the growth of the program as it was their first state gymnastics title in school history.
“We have been striving for this team title the past four years. It has really been a four-year process of helping the girls to understand the difference between the club world and high school world, and the high school world is really centered around that team focus,” said Harrisburg head coach Callie Aylward. “We can achieve so much as a team. This year, they really embraced it, they were all-in on it.”
And when it came to the Class AA team scoring record, that was just the icing on the cake.
“I’m just so proud of them. We’ve spent so much time working on our mental toughness and confidence and believing in themselves,” Aylward stated. “Trusting in their team, focusing on their team, and the fact they’ve been able to replicate it now the past three to four meets in a row – I’m so proud of them.”
Both Estelline/Hendricks and Harrisburg had big individual performances at the state gymnastics meet too.
Portia Trias won in all-around for the Redhawks with her teammates Maggie Hausman and Riah Hartung also finishing second and third in all-around. Trias also won in Bars and Beam, and Hausman won in Floor.
Katelyn Maeschen won All-Around in AA for Harrisburg. She also won in Floor and placed second in Vault and Bars. Her teammates Isabelle Reiners and Emery Myron also won events for Harrisburg – Reiners in Vault and Myron in Beam.
