Level 6 Second Place team from left, Caroline Dreffs (L7), Skye Cutshall (L6), Sasha Stieg (L6), Annabelle Coughlin (L6), Emma Coughlin (L6) and Coach Jan McWilliams.
Bronze Second Place team from left, Tynlee Fahrman, Aria Job, Aubree Roerick, Makayla Klamm and Madison Kelly. (Photo submitted)
Level 3 Third Place team from left back row, Brooke Roscoe, Emma Job, Clara Wisness; front Brooklyn Spotted Bear. (Photo submitted)
Well, the gymnasts of Badlands Gymnastics Club (BGC) did it again, surprising their head coaches Pat and Jan McWilliams with their toughness, tenacity, and bulldog determination; ND state meet in Fargo with three coveted State top three championship cups. They shouldn't have been able to do it, yet they did! The second place Bronze Xcel cup, third place Level 3 cup, and second place Level 6 cup are now sitting on the shelves of Badlands Gymnastics Club downstairs in the Rough Rider Center.
And they did it with one hand tied behind their backs! With the downturn in the oil patch, the BGC team lost 12 of their competitive athletes from last season, down from 30 to 18 gymnasts. The top three routines on each of the four gymnastics events-vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise-count towards the team score. Most teams hit the floor with 10 to 20 athletes to provide those three high scores per event. Badlands only had five Bronze, four Level 3, and four Level 6 from which to glean winning scores yet win they did!
Head Coach Pat McWilliams had this to say about 2021 State: "When we hit the floor with only four or five gymnasts from little ole Watford City on a team, we shouldn't be able to hang in there with these large teams from big cities like Fargo and Grand Forks. Yet our little 'Davids' came with a lot of stones in their pouches and knocked down a whole bunch of gymnastics giants! These kids want on the team award podium with all their hearts and the results show that it's not just wishful thinking!"
Bronze Team Results
Bronze team coaches Macy McWilliams and Jack Long worked hard with their kids the two weeks prior to State to make every routine count and fix the little things that make the difference between champions and almost champions. At Badlands home NoDak Northern Lights gymnastics meet two weeks earlier, the difference between 1st place and 4th place was 0.35, with BGC taking the 4th place banner. At State Saturday, two BGC Bronzes were sick, leaving only five competitors. TNT from Fargo took first by a point, but the difference between 2nd and 4th was a miniscule 0.075! This time, thanks to their coach's preparation, BGC ended up on top of the pile in second place, defeating a team with 23 athletes and the mighty American Gold team from Fargo.
1st TNT (Fargo)112.550; 2nd Badlands 111.550; 3rd Acro Stars (Ray/Tioga) 111.500; 4th American Gold (Fargo 111.475; 5th Red River Valley (Grand Forks) 109.125; 6th Northern Lights (Beulah/Hazen) 105.925; 7th Western Edge (Dickinson) 105.825
Bronze Xcel Top Ten Places
Junior A
Aria Job: Vault 9.350 2nd; Bars 8.950 10th; Beam 9.350 3rd; Floor 9.275 2nd; All Around 36.925 2nd
Aubree Roerick: Vault 9.150 4th; Bars 9.450 2nd; Floor 9.000 4th; All Around 36.275 4th
Junior B
Badlands Madison Kelly took "ownership" of her division, becoming State Champion on every event except Vault, and was second on that one!
Madison Kelly: Vault 9.250 2nd; Bars 9.400 1st; Beam 9.400 1st; Floor 9.275 1st; All Around 37.325 1st
Tynlee Fahrman: Vault 9.250 2nd; Bars 9.050 4th; Beam 9.350 2nd; Floor 9.150 2nd; All Around 36.800 2nd
Senior B
Makayla Klamm: Vault 8.925 9th
Level 3 Team
Badlands four first year Level 3 athletes fought a fierce battle to take home the third-place cup. Although they tied with Grand Fork's Red River Valley, BGC received the third-place cup because of their higher event scores.
1st American Gold Gymnastics 111.750; 2nd Western Stars Gymnastics (Williston) 110.275; 3rd Badlands Gymnastics Club 109.375; 3rd Red River Valley 109.375; 5th Gymagic (Minot) 108.500; 6th Dakota Star (Mandan) 107.675; 7th Bismarck Gymnastics Academy 107.300; 8th Acro Stars Gymnastics 107.100; 9th Western Edge 106.150; 10th Jamestown Gymnastics Club 101.350
Level 3 Top Ten Places
Junior B
Brooklynn Spotted Bear: Vault 9.550 2nd; Bars 8.650 9th; Beam 9.225 3rd; Floor 9.625; All Around 7.050 2nd
Emma Job: Emma was able to claim the title of "Level 3 State Champion" on Balance Beam.
Vault 9.475 3rd; Bars 8.550 10th; Beam 9.300 1st; Floor 9.150 4th; All Around 36.475 4th
Senior A
Brooke Roscoe: Vault 9.300 2nd; Beam 9.150 2nd; Floor 8.925 5th; All Around 35.375 5th
Senior B
Clara Wisness: Vault 9.425 3rd; Beam 9.125 5th
Level 4 Team
Badlands is one competitor short of a full Level 4 Team, but Lenora and Emree did a fine job representing their gym at State.
Level 4 Top Ten Placings
Junior B
Lenora Arnold: Beam 9.025 7th; Floor 8.25 10th
Emree Wold: Vault 8.250 7th; Floor 9.025 7th; All Around 34.275 9th
Level 6 Team
Fargo's TNT ran away with the first-place cup, but Badlands four Level 6's outlasted some tough competition to take second place.
1st TNT 111.500; 2nd Badlands Gymnastics Club 107.525; 3rd Bismarck 107.325; 4th Gymagic 105.500; 5th Jamestown Gymnastics Club 105.325; 6th American Gold Gymnastics 105.200
Level 6 and 7 Top 10 Places
Level 6 Junior A
In Junior A, Skye Cutshall took home state titles on the Beam and Floor Exercise.
Skye Cutshall: Vault 8.325 8th; Bars 9.150 4th; Beam 9.400 1st; Floor 9.500 1st; All Around 36.375 2nd
Level 6 Senior
Emma Coughlin was State Champ on the Balance Beam in Level 6 Senior
Annabelle Coughlin: Vault 8.450 9th; Bars 8.750 6th; Beam 8.800 6th; All Around 34.900 6th
Emma Coughlin: Bars 9.175 2nd; Beam 9.350 1st; All Around 34.875 7th
Sasha Stieg: Beam 8.800 6th; Floor 9.325 4th; All Around 34.075 9th
Level 7 Senior
Caroline Dreffs: Vault 8.100 6th; Bars 8.450 5th; Beam 8.500 4th; Floor 9.075 6th; All Around 34.1256
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