The Bulldog gymnasts started their season Thursday with a win against Dassel-Cokato 112.65-107.The girls started the evening off with the vault competition. Amy Mueller ( at right) started the team off with a handspring half vault and scored a 7.6. Jenni Mayer then added a 7.95 to the team score with another handspring half. Michelle Wolbeck earned an 8.15 and fourth place. Joy Hemmesch vaulted an 8.2 putting her in third place. Placing second on vault with an 8.3 doing a half-half was Kelli Fenske. The team overall scored a 32.6 on vault.
The Bulldogs then moved to the uneven bars. The girls had only four of the five competitors as Rachel Koehn injured her knee during warm-ups. Krysta Larson swung a 6.9 earning her third place in this competition. Placing first for Paynesville with a great routine was Joy Hemmesch with a 7.25. Overall the girls scored 24 points on bars.
Next was the beam competition. Michelle Wolbeck earned fourth place in the meet with a 6.75 and a very nice routine. Tying for secon was Joy Hemmesch with a no-fall routine that earned her a 7.65. Krysta Larson dominated the beam competition with an 8.8, breaking the PAHS school record of 8.6 set by Sara Spanier in 1995-96. The girls scored 29.25 in the beam competition.
The last event for the Bulldogs Thursday evening was the floor exercise. Only two Paynesville gymnasts placed in the competition. Krysta Larson had a great routine which earned her a 7.3 and second place. Joy Hemmesch tumbled into first with a 7.9 and an outstanding routine. The girls' floor total was a 26.8. In the all around competition Joy Hemmesch placed first with 31 points.
Coach Deb Nehowig commented,"I was happy with our score for the first meet. Bars was definitely our weak event with two falls for the evening. We also struggled on floor with our tumbling. I'm hoping the girls will hit their routines against Annandale."
The Bulldogs competed at Annandale yesterday. The Bulldogs have two meets coming up this week. On Thursday, the team will host Melrose. Then on Tuesday, Dec. 14, the team travels to Sauk Centre.
The team would like to thank all the fans who came to their first meet and cheered them on.
Dassel-Cokato- 107.0
Paynesville- 112.65