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High school gymnastics season concludes with state championships at Pierre

roger merriam, watertown public opinion
·4 min read

PIERRE — Class AA Mitchell and Class A Estelline-Hendricks each repeated as team champions Friday during the opening day of the 2024 South Dakota State High School Gymnastics Championships.

Estelline-Hendricks opened by the day by cruising to its second-straight Class A title with a score of 124.596, easily outdistancing runner-up Madison 138.911. The rest of the field included Hot Springs (136.461), Britton-Hecla (134.794), Parkston-Ethan-Hanson-Mount Vernon (134.730), Deuel (132.212), Chamberlain (130.427) and Vermillion (127.27).

Estelline-Hendricks repeated as the Class A team champion on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024 during the South Dakota State Gymnastics Championships at Pierre High School.
Estelline-Hendricks repeated as the Class A team champion on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024 during the South Dakota State Gymnastics Championships at Pierre High School.

"It was so amazing to capture our first-ever state title last year and to be able to win again this year with so much support from our Redhawk community is something we will never forget," Estelline-Hendricks coach Sherri Johnson said.

In the Class AA team competition in the evening, Mitchell posted a school-record score of 151.44 to hold off Harrisburg (149.995). O'Gorman was third at 140.512, followed by Watertown (140.495), Brookings (139.38), Pierre (137.811), Yankton (136.809) and Aberdeen Central (132.379).

The two-day meet concludes today (Saturday) with the Individual Event and All-Around Championships. Opening ceremonies for Class A events begin at 10 a.m. and Class AA events at 3:30 p.m.

Mitchell repeated as the Class AA team champion on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024 during the South Dakota State Gymnastics Championships at Pierre High School.
Mitchell repeated as the Class AA team champion on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024 during the South Dakota State Gymnastics Championships at Pierre High School.

Class AA Team

Team scores by event for Class AA included:

Balance Beam — Mitchell 37.966, Harrisburg 37.965, Watertown 36.748, Pierre 35.715, O'Gorman 35.599, Yankton 35.314, Brookings 35.149, Aberdeen Central 33.349.

Floor Exercise — Mitchell 37.965, Harrisburg 37.666, Watertown 35.982, O'Gorman 35.916, Brookings 35.566, Yankton 34.932,Pierre 34.648, Aberdeen Central 33.616.

Shauna Evenson of Watertown swings on the uneven bars during the Class AA team competition in the South Dakota State High School Gymnastics Championships on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024 at Pierre High School.
Shauna Evenson of Watertown swings on the uneven bars during the Class AA team competition in the South Dakota State High School Gymnastics Championships on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024 at Pierre High School.

Uneven Bars — Mitchell 37.665, Harrisburg 36.699, Brookings 33.349, O'Gorman 32.765, Watertown 32.232, Pierre 31.432, Yankton 31.098, Aberdeen Central 29.832.

Vault — Mitchell 37.848, Harrisburg 37.665, O'Gorman 36.232, Pierre 36.016, Aberdeen Central 35.582, Watertown 35.533, Yankton 35.465, Brookings 35.316.

Addison Everson of Aberdeen Central leaps from the balance beam during the Class AA team competition in the South Dakota State High School Gymnastics Championships on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024 at Pierre High School.
Addison Everson of Aberdeen Central leaps from the balance beam during the Class AA team competition in the South Dakota State High School Gymnastics Championships on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024 at Pierre High School.

Class A Team

Team scores by event for Class A included:

Balance Beam — Estelline-Hendricks 36.349, Madison 35.415, Britton-Hecla 34.865, Hot Springs 34.483, Parkston-Ethan-Hanson-Mount Vernon 33.866, Chamberlain 33.815, Deuel 33.349, Vermillion 32.865.

Floor Exercise — Estelline-Hendricks 36.232, Madison 35.399, Hot Springs 35.015, Deuel 34.298, Parkston-Ethan-Hanson-Mount Vernon 34.132, 6. Chamberlain 33.799, Britton-Hecla 35.531, Vermillion 32.082.

2023 State Gymnastics: Mitchell (AA), Estelline-Hendricks (A) capture state gymnastics titles

Uneven Bars — Estelline-Hendricks 33.599, Madison 32.999, Hot Springs 32.181, Britton-Hecla 31.149, Parkston-Ethan-Hanson-Mount Vernon 30.666, Deuel 30.048, Chamberlain 28.331, Vermillion 28.182.

Vault — Estelline-Hendricks 36.416, Parkston-Ethan-Hanson-Mount Vernon 36.066, Britton-Hecla 35.249, Madison 35.098, Hot Springs 34.782, Deuel 34.517, Chamberlain 34.482, 8. Vermillion 33.998.

Portia Trias of Estelline-Hendricks performs on the balance beam during the Class A team competition in the South Dakota State High School Gymnastics Championships on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024 at Pierre High School.
Portia Trias of Estelline-Hendricks performs on the balance beam during the Class A team competition in the South Dakota State High School Gymnastics Championships on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024 at Pierre High School.

Class AA Individual and All-Around Championships

Katelyn Maeschen of Harrisburg captured the all-around title on Saturday with a score of 38.799. She also won the floor exercise with a 9.88 score.

Mitchell's Bentley Bates won the balance beam (9.65) and uneven bars (9.766) and teammate Olivia Prunty took the vault (9.783).

Watertown's Briana McElhany competes in the floor exercise during the Class AA individual events and all-around championship at the State High School Gymnastics Championships on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024 at Pierre High School.
Watertown's Briana McElhany competes in the floor exercise during the Class AA individual events and all-around championship at the State High School Gymnastics Championships on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024 at Pierre High School.

Shauna Evenson was the lone medalist (top 10) for Watertown. She finished fourth in the balance beam (9.433) and sixth in the floor exercise (9.55).

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Class A Individual and All-Around Championships

Estelline-Hendricks senior Sadie Johnson capped her stellar career by repeating as the Class A all-around champion with a score of 37.982. She won the vault (9.783), floor exercise (9.833) and balance beam (9.483) and also was third on the bars (9.883).

Portia Trias of Estelline-Hendricks was second in the bars (8.983) and fourth in the balance beam (9.216). Kenzy Beare (sixth in vault, 9.05) and Jaylee Berwald (sixth in beam, 9.183) also placed for the Redhawks.

Estelline-Hendricks' Sadie Johnson competes on the balance beam during the Class A individual events and all-around championship at the State High School Gymnastics Championhips on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024 at Pierre High School.
Estelline-Hendricks' Sadie Johnson competes on the balance beam during the Class A individual events and all-around championship at the State High School Gymnastics Championhips on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024 at Pierre High School.

Other area top 10 medalists included Sterling Mertens of Britton-Hecla (fifth in vault, 9.566; tied for seventh in bars, 8.433; and tied for fifth in floor, 9.4); Hannah Brown of Milbank Area (10th in vault, 8.966); and Hannah Cutshaw of Deuel (tied for seventh in bars, 8.433; seventh in floor (9.366) and ninth in the all-around (35.265).

Kiera Allen of Hot Springs won the uneven bars (9.15).

Estelline-Hendricks senior Sadie Johnson received the Sarah Nitz Memorial Award during the final day of the State High School Gymnastics Championships on Saturday, Feb. 10 at Pierre High School.
Estelline-Hendricks senior Sadie Johnson received the Sarah Nitz Memorial Award during the final day of the State High School Gymnastics Championships on Saturday, Feb. 10 at Pierre High School.

State Indivdiual Results: https://listen.sdpb.org/sports-rec/2024-02-10/2024-sdhsaa-state-gymnastics-individual-results

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Mitchell (Class AA), Estelline-Hendricks (Class A) defend state titles