Sports
Batavia Gymnasts Place 7th in UEC Meet
Bulldogs score a 123.3 in their first-ever Upstate Eight Conference Meet.
The Batavia girls gymnastics team took seventh place in Saturday's Upstate Eight Conference Meet at Lake Park.
The Bulldogs finished with a 123.3 score. Rival Geneva scored a school-record 142.125 to win the meet.
Waubonsie Valley/Metea Valley co-op was runner-up with a 138.650, followed by Lake Park (135.025), Neuqua Valley (134.7), Bartlett/South Elgin/Streamwood co-op (133.175) and St. Charles co-op (133.075).
Brittany Wahlen paced the Bulldogs with a 32.850 in the all-around.
"I did pretty good on bars and had never gone over my giants," Wahlen said. "I got a 7.65 (on bars) and also an 8.85 on vault, so both of those were new highs for me. I also had a full and a half on floor and usually only do a full."
Sarah Ganster scored a 31.4 in the all-around and tied Wahlen for eighth place on vault with an 8.85. Ganster added an 8.4 on floor.
"We're still testing the waters with the new conference and getting used to where these other teams are placing, so we know what we need to do next year," Ganster said. "I think we came in pretty well prepared, added some new skills and tried to see what we can do."
Nikki Flesvig (28.7) and Lily Garcia (26.6) also competed in the all-around for the Bulldogs. They may have been in the bottom of the standings but remain positive because of their youth and continued development this winter.
"Brittany hit her bar routine with her giants, which was awesome today," Batavia Coach Taryn Boyce said. "Sarah's vaults today were awesome and she's been working so hard on them, so that was good."
Boyce saw too many falls on beam for her liking but liked the way the team rebounded on floor and vault.
"We have a lot to look forward to next year and that's been our whole thing, to work on getting better since we're not losing any seniors," she said." Now they have some confidence to take into Monday (Glenbard North regional) and we have a good chance at getting some kids into the sectional, and if they don't place, as at-larges."
Megan Hagemann added an 8.6 on vault and Mandie Stangle contributed a 7.75 on beam and a 5.95 on bars.
Coming Soon
Batavia has a quick turnaround. The Bulldogs will travel to Carol Stream on Monday to compete in the Glenbard North regional.
