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LA CROSSE – Marshfield junior Hanna Merkel finished fifth in the all-around and three other Tigers earned top-five finishes in two other events to qualify for next week’s state meet at the WIAA Division 1 Gymnastics Sectional on Saturday at Performance Elite Gymnastics.
The top five finishers in each individual event and the all-around, and the top two teams moves on to the 2021 WIAA Division 1 State Gymnastics Championships at Lincoln High School in Wisconsin Rapids on Saturday, Feb. 27.
Merkel finished fifth in the all-around with a score of 34.425, while taking second in the uneven bars (8.7) to earn a spot at the state meet.
She will be joined by teammates Sophie Nikolay, Alexis Mushel and Phoebe Hernandez, who all landed top-five finishes in two different events to also move on to state.
Nikolay, a junior, and Mushel, a senior, finished in a four-way tie for second place in the vault with scores of 8.95, and Hernandez, a sophomore, took fifth in the balance beam with a score of 8.825 to move on to state.
Marshfield bid for a third-straight trip as a team to state fell just short as it finished third with 134.65 points, just 2.75 points shy of second-place Eau Claire Memorial/North. Stevens Point won the team title with a score of 136.025.
The Marshfield gymnasts will compete in the first session of the state meet next Saturday beginning at noon.
2021 WIAA Division 1 Gymnastics Sectional
Feb. 20, at Performance Elite Gymnastics, La Crosse
Top two teams, and top five individuals in each event and all-around advance to Division 1 state meet Feb. 27 at Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High School
Team scores: 1. Stevens Point 136.025; 2. Eau Claire Memorial/North 134.925; 3. Marshfield 134.65; 4. Hudson 134.2; 5. Holmen 133.775; 6. Onalaska/Luther 131.55; 7. Wisconsin Rapids 127.95; 8. Superior 115.55; 9. Chippewa Falls 112; 10. La Crosse Co-op 111.45.
All-around: 1. Caroline Erikson (HUD) 35.75; 2. Emma Loen (ECMN) 35.15; 3. Harley Bartels (HOL) 34.875; 4. Katelynn Trowbridge (SP) 34.5; 5. Hanna Merkel (MAR) 34.425; 14. Ellie Jensen (MAR) 31.775.
Vault: 1. Annabella Campbell (ECMN) 9.1 2. Maggie Kempen (SP), Maddi Melby (HOL), Sophie Nikolay (MAR) and Alexis Mushel (MAR) 8.95; 6. Kim Backaus (MAR) 8.9; 16. Jensen (MAR) 8.625; 17. (tie) Merkel (MAR) 8.6.
Uneven bars: 1. Trowbridge (SP) 8.725; 2. Merkel (MAR) 8.7; 3. Erikson (HUD) 8.65; 4. Ava Clark (HOL) 8.4; 5. Loen (ECMN) 8.3; 13. Jensen (MAR) 7.85; 17. Vivian Nikolai (MAR) 7.75; 19. Serenah Tippett (MAR) 7.625.
Balance beam: 1. Loen (ECMN) 9.35; 2. Riley Keene (SP) 9.05; 3. Erikson (HUD) 8.975; 4. Haley Karr (SP) 8.875; 5. Phoebe Hernandez (MAR) 8.825; 10. Kyra Huff (MAR) 8.325; 14. Merkel (MAR) 8.2; 25. Nikolay (MAR) 7.675; 36. Jensen (MAR) 7.125.
Floor exercise: 1. Erikson (HUD) 9.4; 2. Bartels (HOL) 9.375; 3. Maddi Fish (HUD) 9.225; 4. Emily Warren (HUD) and Annabella Campbell (ECMN) 9.05; 9. Merkel (MAR) 8.925; 16. Mushel (MAR) 8.575; 19. Hernandez (MAR) 8.425; 27. Jensen (MAR) 8.175; 34. Nikolay (MAR) 7.8.