The pressure was palpable for New Prague senior Ava Bruegger on Saturday at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul.
After nailing her routines on floor exercise, vault, and uneven bars, the only thing that stood in the way of Bruegger being crowned state champion in the Class 2A state individual gymnastics meet was the vaunted balance beam.
Essentially, as long as she stayed on the apparatus, Bruegger knew she would hoist the hardware. So, imagine the anxiety she felt when she stumbled, then fell off during her initial tumbling pass.
In the end, Bruegger did just enough to edge New Prague freshman Hailey Proshek.
Though both finished with a score of 37.575 in the all-around competition, Bruegger narrowly beat out Proshek via a tiebreaker.
It was a masterclass from Bruegger for most of the night. She started off on a high note with a 9.600 on floor exercise, followed it up with a 9.750 on vault, kept things rolling with a 9.525 on uneven bars, and hung on for dear life with a 8.700 on balance beam.
The main person pushing for Bruegger throughout the night was Proshek, so it’s fitting that she finished in second place in the all-around. After shining on floor exercise, vault, and uneven bars, Proshek came up clutch on balance beam.
The stellar performances from Bruegger and Proshek served as some redemption roughly 24 hours after New Prague finished as the runner-up to Owatonna in the Class 2A state team gymnastics meet.
Meanwhile, Lakeville South sophomore Piper Keith took third place in the all-around with a 37.475. She was extremely consistent on every apparatus, just not as prolific as Bruegger or Proshek.
The state champions on the individual events included Waconia senior Kaia Bauerova on vault with a 9.825, Proshek on uneven bars with a 9.575, Owatonna freshman Cordelia Neumann on balance beam with a 9.475, and Bruegger on floor exercise with a 9.600.
Class A
Monticello junior Lauren Hansen won the all-around competition in the Class A meet with a 37.475. Detroit Lakes junior Maggie Schander took second place with a 37.350 and North Branch senior Dakota Esget took third with a 37.325.
Simley senior Lucy Penttila finished in fourth place in the all-around with a 36.925. She was also the runner-up on uneven bars with a 9.425.
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