The Gustavus gymnastics team concluded its season with an eighth place finish after recording a score of 172.450 at the 2012 WIAC Championships/NCGA Regional held Saturday afternoon in the McPhee Physical Education Center in Eau Claire, Wis. UW-La Crosse scored a 187.700 to run away with the 2012 WIAC Championship. Rounding out the top-three was UW-Whitewater in second (185.500) and UW-Eau Claire in third (183.025).
The Gusties brought their year to an end with individual event scores of 45.600 on the vault, 39.200 on the uneven parallel bars, 42.975 on the balance beam, and 44.675 on the floor exercise.
Top Gustavus performers on the day included sophomore Jamie Ries (Monticello, Minn.), junior Sam Opsahl (Forest Lake, Minn.), junior Bailey Zeinert (Oshkosh, Wis.), and first-year Hillary Sabourin (Gatineau, Quebec).
Jamie Ries and Bailey Zeinert both represented Gustavus in the all-around competition. Ries placed 11th with score of 35.250 and Zeinert placed 14th with a score of 33.375. The Monticello, Minn. native scored a 9.225 on the floor (22nd), 9.175 on the vault (27th), 8.400 on the bars (8.400), and a 8.450 on the beam (37th). Zeinert turned in a season-best 9.225 on the vault (20th), 8.450 on the floor (47th), 7.850 on the bars (43rd), and a 7.850 on the beam (47th).
Winning the all-around gold medal was Morgan Shene of UW-La Crosse with a score of 37.925. Other individual event champions included Katherine Prouty of UW-Stout on the vault (9.650), Christa Booman of UW-La Crosse (9.700) on the bars, Allyse Dieringer (9.600) on the beam, and Courtney Benson of Hamline on the floor (9.650).
Sam Opsahl registered a finish inside the top-20 by taking 18th on the balance beam after a 9.150 routine. Opsahl also went 9.100 on the floor (27th) and 9.00 on the vault (39th). Hillary Sabourin rounded out Gustavus’ top gymnasts with a 25th place mark on the beam after scoring an 8.750.
An All-Sportsmanship Team was also selected for those individuals that displayed exemplary sportsmanship throughout the season. The All-Sportsmanship team included an individual from every school, as junior Shelby Winzent (Godlen, Colo.) was selected as Gustavus’ representative on the team.
