SAINT PETER, Minn. — The Gustavus gymnastics team was in a record-setting mood on Friday night. Individually, the Gusties set a total of 10 new career-highs over the Blue Devils. As a team, the Gusties posted the program’s highest ever team score of 187.675, beating out a 19-year-old record of 187.425 set at the NCGA Nationals in the 2003-04 season.
In the first rotation, the Gusties scored three of the top-6 scores on vault for a team total of 46.900 in the event. The Gusties were led by Marley Michaud (So., Sartell) who posted a 9.450 for third overall. Abby Willis (Jr., San Bernardino, Calif.) placed fourth with a score of 9.425, followed by Lily Horsch (Somonauk, Ill.) to round out the top-5 at 9.400. Kimika Ishikawa-Temple (Jr., Los Angeles, Calif.) and Ella Nash (Fy., Jackson, Wyo.) added career-bests for the Gusties on vault, with scores of 9.350 and 9.275, respectively.
For the second meet in a row, the Gusties shined on the bars, taking four of the top-5 scores in the event. Maddox Lee (Fy., Hugo) posted a career-best of 9.475 to lead the entire event. Lee was followed by Kendra Smaby (Jr., Palo Alto, Calif.) who added a career-high of her own at 9.450 to share the second place finish. Annie Corbett (Sr., Brookfield, Wis.) finished fourth (9.325), while Sophie Schmitz (Jr., Buffalo) matched her career-high in the event from last week with a 9.275.
Izzy Breitkreutz (Jr., Big Lake) led the way on the beam, posting a score of 9.575 for a career-best and the second-best overall beam score of the night. Katy Cash (Jr., Canton, Mich.) added a career-high 9.400 on beam as well.
The Gusties took four of the top-5 scores in the floor exercise, led by Michaud at the top with a career-high score of 9.550. Ella Binfet (So., Ramsey) shared second with teammate Olivia Jahnke (So., Hanover), both scoring a 9.500. Lili Guy (So., Glendale Heights, Ill.) added a fifth place finish with a score of 9.425 for a career-high, while Willis finished with a career-best 9.400 in sixth.
“The word proud doesn’t do justice to how we’re feeling right now. It was an emotional meet. Some last minute lineup changes took us away from our original plan and got us off our groove going into competition,” said Head Coach Aryn DeGrood.
“But these women could not be stopped today. They came together as one unit and did what we as coaches see them do day in and day out at practice. We have always known that this team was capable of great things and to see it come together the way it did today, after all the emotions we encountered during warm-ups, was more than we could have asked for.”
The Gusties are back at home next weekend once again, hosting WIAC-leading UW-La Crosse on Friday at 6 p.m.