Area youth climbers from Rochester's Roca Climbing and Fitness shine at regionals
May 17—MILWAUKEE, Wis. — It was memorable weekend for the climbers of Rochester's Roca Climbing and Fitness.
The club's climb team saw 10 of their 26 climbers that competed in the USA Climbing Region 61's Top Rope and Lead Climbing Championships on May 11 in Milwaukee qualify for the divisional competition.
Divisionals take place June 15-16 in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
Ben Edwards (first), Berrick Miller (second), Erik Cmiel (second), Lilly Thorne (fourth), Elijah Mikkalson (fifth), Nick Dewhirst (sixth), Addie Scheid (eighth), Bo Fenner (ninth), Willa Carslon (12th) and Mason Rowse (12th), will all make the trek to Illinois after securing a top 15 finish among competitors from North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota Wisconsin and the northern half of Illinois.
All competitors are 19 and younger.
Jack Parker also won his division — Male Youth D (MYD) — but this was the last event for the male and female D divisions.
Edwards, Dewhirst and Fenner all advanced in the Male Youth B (MYB) category. Miller, Mikkalson and Rowse were in the A category, while Cmiel placed second in the Male Junior Division.
Thorne placed fourth in the Female Youth B (FYB) division, while Scheid and Carlson qualified in the Female Youth C (FYC) division. For Scheid and Carlson, Divisionals will be the last competition of the year as only JR, A and B are elgible to move on to nationals, which take place in July.
Overall, it was a great showing by the young Rochester area climbers.
"This past weekend's competition was the culmination of months of practice, qualifying competitions, and dedication on the part of our climbers," Roca General Manager Sarah Martin said.
Here is the full list of all 26 Roca competitors. An asterisk represents qualifying for divisionals on June 15-16. The lower the score the better.
Results
FYA (Female Youth A)
Bella Wiltsie (14th, 13.22 pts)
Charmian Van Buren (15th, 14.24 pts)
Annika Cmiel (21th, 20.28 pts)
Jocelyn Moscatelli (24th, 21.77pts)
FYB (Female Youth B)
Lilly Thorne (fourth, 4.14 pts)*
Katherine Matzek (22nd, 21.23 pts)
FYC (Female Youth C)
Addie Scheid (eighth, 8.85 pts)*
Willa Carlson (12th, 11.21 pts)*
Kailyn Drucker (18th, 15.95 pts)
FYD (Female Youth D)
Elise Davis (eighth, 8.28 pts)
Adeline Matzek (18th, 16.82 pts)
Britta DeGrote (19th, 18.07 pts)
MJR (Male Junior Division)
Erik Cmiel (2, 2.08 pts)*
MYA (Male Youth A)
Berrick Miller (second, 2.41 pts)*
Elijah Mikkalson (fifth, 5.94 pts)*
Mason Rowse (12th, 12.59 pts)*
Rohan Gulati (16th, 13.82 pts)
MYB (Male Youth B)
Ben Edwards (first, 2.29 pts)*
Nick Dewhirst (sixth, 6.74 pts)*
Bo Fenner (ninth, 8.98 pts)*
Dominic Unnasch (19th, 17.81 pts)
Domenic Schenone (23rd, 21.74)
MYC (Male Youth C)
Sam Thome (25th, 24.83 pts)
MYD (Male Youth D)
Jack Parker (first, 1.82 pts)
Evan Drucker (17th, 16.83 pts)
Bryan Rowse (23rd, 20.6 pts)