Gustavus gymnasts Christine Askham, Aryn Bell, Jess Dolan, Laura Hansen, and Meghan Johnson saw their 2009 seasons come to an end after competing at the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association Championships hosted by Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn. on Friday night.
Askham, a senior from Arvada, Colorado who was making her third appearance at the NCGA Championships, finished 14th in the all-around competition with a score of 36.275 out of 22 competitors. She finished tied for 33rd on the vault with a score of 9.300, tied for 16th on the uneven parallel bars with a score of 9.200, tied for 50th on the balance beam with a score of 8.325, and tied for 15th on the floor exercise with a score of 9.450. Askham missed qualifying for the event finals on the floor exercise by 0.025 points as the top 14 advanced to Saturday’s finals competition.
Senior Meghan Johnson from Minneapolis, Minnesota finished tied for 15th on the balance beam with a score of 9.400 in her first appearance at the NCGA Championships. She also missed qualifying for the event finals by 0.025 points. Laura Hansen, a senior from Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, made her fourth appearance at the national meet. She posted a score of 8.825 to finish 38th on the balance beam out of 56 competitors.
Aryn Bell, a senior from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, was making her second appearance at the NCGA Championships. She recorded a score of 9.375 and finished in a tie for 22nd on the vault out of 55 competitors.
Jess Dolan, a senior from Milroy, Minnesota, competed in her first NCGA Championship meet. She posted a score of 9.275 to finish tied for 36th place out of 56 competitors.
The top qualifiers for each individual event heading into Saturday included Gabi Hooper of UW-La Crosse on the vault with a score of 9.800, Megan Hargens of UW-Stout on the uneven parallel bars with a score of 9.725, Melissa Baudhuin of Winona State on the balance beam with a score of 9.700, and Naomi DeLara of UW-Stout on the floor exercise with a score of 9.775
The National Collegiate Gymnastics Association handed out its academic awards at the national meet and eight Gustavus gymnasts were honored for their work in the classroom. The eight who were named Senior All-Americans in Academics included Christine Askham, Aryn Bell, Jess Dolan, Laura Hansen, Meghan Johnson, Julia Kruchoski, Catherine Osterhaus and Jaime Tsurusaki.