Gymnastics: Short-handed Wingers fall to New Prague

Both Kassidy Coplan and Maria Furlong -- two of Red Wing's top all-around performers -- missed Thursday's competition at New Prague.

That is part of the reason why Wingers coach Beth Mayer wasn't upset that her team lost 137.825-117.575.

"The scores that (Coplan and Furlong) get are quite a bit ahead of the girls that filled in their spots," Mayer said.

However, eight Wingers tallied season-best scores.

"You can't be sad about the fact that you make changes in the lineup and they make season-best scores," Mayer said.

Freshman Carlie Sandstrom was the only Winger to finish in the top five in any event. She took fourth on the balance beam and recorded an 8.2. Eighth-grader Jordan Munson's 8.25 on the vault was Red Wing's best score in the event while Irina Anderson, a freshman, scored a 7.6 on the uneven bars. Sophomore Molly Hart tallied a 7.8 in the floor exercise.

"(I'm) very pleased that they hung together and still tried to do their very best as they were competing," said Mayer, whose team is back in action Saturday in an invitational at River Falls.

Tags: red wing, sports, prep, gymnastics, wingers