Gymnastics state meet: Owatonna wins Class 2A, Detroit Lakes returns to the peak in 1A

The challenge could scarcely have been more daunting: If Owatonna wanted to pull out a victory in the Class 2A gymnastics team tournament Friday, the Huskies needed to have a dominant effort on what is typically the most unnerving event of a meet.

Adding to the litany of trials facing the Owatonna gymnasts was that the Huskies have spent most of the season with key performers on the shelf with injuries. Would they hold up under pressure?

They did, with the most splendid of results. Owatonna posted a meet-best score of 37.2 on the balance beam in its final event of the night at Roy Wilkins Auditorium, lifting the Huskies past No. 1-ranked New Prague for the Class 2A team state championship with a team score of 146.825.

It was one of the most tightly contested state meets in recent memory, with the three teams atop the standings separated by just 0.4 of a point: 1. Owatonna 146.825; 2. New Prague 146.45; 3. Cretin-Derham Hall 146.425.

The Owatonna gymnasts had no idea going into the final rotation where they stood. The Huskies, getting healthy at the right time, had some of their best meet scores in their two most recent meets, but their coaches made sure that they didn’t know what they needed to do beforehand.

Or that they had pulled it off afterward.

“The coaches knew, but the girls didn’t,” coach Evan Moe said. “We try not to let them know until it’s over, but the parents gave it away. As soon as our last score turned, the parents freaked out. They were combing over the scores. They knew exactly what had happened.”

Senior Halle Theis had battled a nagging ankle injury all season but was one of the Huskies to come through when needed with a state title at stake. She said she didn’t know her team had won until it was announced officially in the medal ceremony.

“I didn’t want to believe it until I heard it for myself over the loudspeakers,” Theis said. “I had to protect my emotions a little bit.”

And when it went out over the speakers?

“Amazing,” she said. “I’m at a loss for words.”

After spending a half-decade as the standard-bearer for Class 1A gymnastics, Detroit Lakes returned to the top of the podium Friday, winning the team championship at the MSHSL state meet at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul.

The Lakers finished with a team score of 145.625. Monticello was second with 144.775. Breck finished third at 144.0.

Detroit Lakes established itself as an elite high school gymnastics program a decade and a half ago. The Lakers won five straight Class 1A team championships from 2015 through 2019.

The Lakers have made two state tournament appearances since their last title in 2019, but this season showed all the signs that another title might be in the offing.

Lakers head coach Steve Zamzo made sure to prepare his team for the possibility, stressing gymnastics' cerebral side.

“It’s all mental when you get here,” he said. “We worked our focus, our breathing, things like that.”

The mental training paid off handsomely Friday. Breck started the meet with a strong performance on the balance beam, traditionally the make-or-break apparatus in a gymnastics meet. The Mustangs rode that early advantage for much of the meet, holding a small lead over Detroit Lakes and Monticello into the final rotation of the meet.

When Detroit Lakes lined up for its turn at uneven bars, the Lakers trailed by a half-point.

This was exactly the situation for which Zamzo had prepared his team. The Lakers soared on the bars, nailing routine after routine. Junior Maggie Schander posted a 9.475, the cherry on top of the bars effort, clinching the title for the Lakers.

“This team has a very big legacy,” Schander said. “We might be small, but we’re mighty. We knew we had to work our butts off to get to the top, but we were very confident. We just did what we do every day in practice.”

Breck, the third-place finisher, had three faces familiar to gymnastics fans. The Mustangs' co-head coach is Jessica Strecker, with sister Kaylee and Anna Gleason as assistants.

All three competed in the state meet for Roseville during the Raiders' run as the state’s most dominant team, winning eight Class 2A team titles in 10 years between 2006 and 2015.

Strecker, who also coached Breck in the state tournament last year, said she has fond memories of her time as a competitor but said she enjoys coaching more. She admitted to tearing up watching her team perform.

“I was telling them, ‘If you went up there and fell a hundred times, I’d still be crying,’ ” Strecker said. “Nothing could take away the high that these girls brought to this gym. Their energy is amazing. They work so hard every day. To see it pay off is really, really special.”