Gymnastics: A 20-year low for Red Wing

Red Wing coach Beth Mayer can't remember a Red Wing gymnastics team scoring so poorly in her 20-plus years of coaching.

"This is the lowest score I ever remember," Mayer said.

Prior Lake defeated Red Wing 134.225-116.25 in the Missota Conference contest Tuesday night.

The Wingers have been battling injuries all season and it didn't help when freshman Molly Hart and eighth-grader Carlie Sandstrom were held out of Tuesday's meet. Hart was injured in practice recently and got five stitches in her toe, while Sandstrom is resting with swelling in her back.

"We were without two more varsity competitors," Mayer said. "The disappointing part was that the other varsity competitors didn't hold their own tonight, other than Kassidy Coplan."

Mayer was pleased with the junior varsity gymnasts that stepped up to fill the varsity spots, but knows it can be very nerve-wrecking for those athletes. She said the Wingers had "tons of falls off beam" and took tricks out of their floor routines during competition.

"It was just not going well right away from the beginning," Mayer said.

Coplan, an eighth-grader, was the Wingers' lone bright spot. She took third place on vault with an 8.3, fourth on the floor exercise with an 8.2 and fifth on the balance beam with a 7.425.

Red Wing's only other finish in the top five came from senior Kirsten Bluhm, who placed fifth on the balance beam with a 7.425.

Red Wing resumes action at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in its first home meet of the year when New Prague comes to town.

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