The 50th girls gymnastics state meet will take place Friday and Saturday at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium at the St. Paul RiverCentre.
Gymnastics state tournament: What you need to know
A Roseville connection revived Breck, Lakeville South found its way back to state, plus team qualifiers and final state rankings.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
February 23, 2024 at 12:14AM
The meet kicks off with team competition Friday. Class 1A begins at 11 a.m., Class 2A at 6 p.m.
The individual and all-around competition is Saturday, Class 1A at 11 a.m. and Class 2A at 6 p.m.
Class 1A team qualifiers: Byron (Section 1), Mankato West (2), Worthington (3), Breck (4), Watertown-Mayer/Mound Westonka (5), New London-Spicer (6), Becker (7), Melrose (8). 2023 champion: Big Lake.
Class 2A team qualifiers: Lakeville South (Section 1), Prior Lake (2), East Ridge (3), Cretin-Derham Hall (4), St. Michael-Albertville (5), Hopkins (6), Forest Lake (7), St. Cloud Tech (8). 2023 champion: New Prague.
Final Class 1A Coaches Association state rankings: 1. Melrose; 2. Monticello; 2. Worthington; 4. New London-Spicer; 5. Watertown-Mayer/Mound Westonka; 6. Becker; 7. Perham; 8. Detroit Lakes; 9. Winona/Winona Cotter; 10. Byron.
Final Class 2A Coaches Association state rankings: 1. Lakeville South; 2. Owatonna; 3. Elk River-Zimmerman; 4. Forest Lake; 5. Hopkins; 6. St. Cloud Tech; 7. Cretin-Derham Hall; 8. Stillwater; 9. St. Michael-Albertville; 10. Farmington.
Roseville connection
Two seasons ago, the Breck gymnastics program was on life support. There was no coach, and there were murmurs it was about to be dropped. But strong gymnastics ties to the long successful Roseville gymnastics program surfaced to help keep the team alive. Dan Foster, a longtime gymnast and gymnastics coach, agreed to take over the program. He had a history with Roseville, having competed at the now-closed Ramsey High School in the area. Former Roseville coach (and recent Hall of Famer) Mark Curley was his coach. Three former Roseville gymnasts are assisting Foster: Janelle Borgen, Anna Gleason and Jessica Strecker, who were members of the Roseville team that set national scoring records en route to four consecutive Class 2A team championships from 2006-09. In addition, Gleason won two consecutive all-around titles in 2008 and 2009 and accumulated six other individual championships. “This season we all came together at Breck and had a fantastic season!” Foster wrote in an e-mail.
Lakeville South is back
After more than a decade of playing second fiddle to intradistrict rival Lakeville North, Lakeville South is back in the Class 2A state meet for the first time since 2008. The Cougars got past Owatonna, which won the past three Section 1 titles, by less than a half-point in the section final. They did so without senior Alexa Drew, the defending all-around section champion who finished third in the Class 2A state meet in the vault last season. Drew was lost for the season to an injury in January.
Former champs now coaching
In addition to Gleason, Melrose coach Katie Masog is a four-time former champ, having won the Class 1A all-around championship in 2001 and 2004 and the balance beam and vault in 2004. East Ridge coach Caroline Urgo won the Class 2A vault and floor exercise titles while she was at Stillwater in 2005.
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
