Oshkosh, Wis. – Gustavus Adolphus senior Samantha Opsahl (Forest Lake, Minn.) stole the show for the gymnastics team at the 2013 WIAC Championships/NCGA West Regional held Saturday at the Kolf Sports Center located on the campus of the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. Opsahl became the first Gustie in over five years to earn a spot on the podium after turning in a routine of 9.575 on the balance beam to finish in a five-way tie for second place.
As a team, Gustavus turned in its best performance of the season, scoring a 178.075 to place eighth overall. UW-Whitewater won the 2013 title with a score of 187.650, while defending champion UW-La Crosse placed runner-up with a score of 187.025. UW-Eau Claire rounded out the top three with a score of 186.650.
Gustavus’s individual event scores included a 44.675 on the vault, 40.400 on the uneven parallel bars, a season-best 45.850 on the beam, and a season-best 47.150 on the floor. The squad’s previous season-high on the beam was a 45.050 turned in at the Hamline Invite on Jan. 19. The Gusties obliterated their previous high in the floor, besting their score of 45.675 recorded at the Best of Minnesota on Feb. 16.
Along with her silver medal performance on the beam, Opsahl finished 33rd on the vault (9.025) and 33rd on the floor (9.500). Her outing on the floor was a season-high by two-tenths of a point, outdoing her score of 9.300 posted against Winona State on Feb. 3. The Forest Lake, Minn. native is the first Gustie to achieve a top three standing at the WIAC Championships since Brittany Moore did so with a runner-up finish on the vault (9.550) on March 8, 2007.
Bailey Zeinert (Sr., Oshkosh, Wis.) and Jamie Ries (Jr., Monticello, Minn.) represented the Three Crowns in the all-around competition. Zeinert finished fifth with a season-high score of 36.300, and Ries placed seventh with a 35.750. Zeinert went 8.775 on the vault (45th), 8.750 on the bars (22nd), 9.400 on the beam (14th), and 9.375 on the floor (42nd). The senior’s marks on the beam and floor are both season-bests. Ries tallied scores of 8.950 on the vault (38th), 8.950 on the bars (16th), 8.750 on the beam (41st), and 9.100 on the floor (46th).