Press No. 8 Sports Story of 2011: Fossum sets the bar high early

• Acacia Fossum

Photo by John M. Steiner/Forum Communications Co. Acacia Fossum does her balance beam routine during the North Dakota state individual championship gymnastics meet on Feb. 26 at Jamestown High School. As a seventh-grader, the Dickinson gymnast won the all-around, beam and floor exercise state titles and helped her team to its third consecutive second-place finish.

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Editor’s Note: The Dickinson Press’ Top 10 sports stories of 2011 countdown continues through Dec. 31. Each story in the countdown will be presented as a column with the reporter’s take on why the story was impactful this year.

Acacia Fossum set the bar very high as a seventh-grader.

Fossum won three individuals titles, including the all-around championship, and helped Dickinson High gymnastics finish second as a team for its third-straight year at the 2011 state meet.

This year, Fossum and many returners are back for the Midgets. Her individual titles, all-around title and the team’s runner-up finish is The Dickinson Press’ No. 8 Sports Story of 2011.

Entering the state meet, Fossum had the top all-around average of 38.158 and improved on that mark to win the all-around (38.25).

“She’s been remarkably consistent all season. She only fell off beam once all season,” Dickinson head coach Kent Van Ells said in a Feb. 27 article by The Jamestown Sun following the state meet. “She’s a wonderful girl, and she obviously is exceptionally talented.”

The two events Fossum won were the balance beam (9.7) and the floor exercise (9.683). She also placed third in the uneven bars and fifth in the vault.

Fossum and teammates have been road blocked by one team in the last three seasons — Minot High. The Midgets are looking to make it past the Majettes to end the streak of second-place finishes.

“It’s been close every time,” Dickinson senior Shalesa Wariner said in a Dec. 1 article in The Press. “I think this is one of our better shots we’ll have at it.”

Dickinson’s returners who all placed in the top 15 during the state tournament are Wariner, junior McKenzie Kostelcky and sophomores Mikaela Kessel and Jenna Mueller.

The Midgets are now on a short break for Christmas break to recuperate from slight bumps and bruises through the early part of the season.

Dickinson then continues its quest for a state championship title on Jan. 6 when the team travels to Jamestown. The Midgets host this year’s state meet the last weekend in February.

McGregor is a sports reporter for The Dickinson Press. He can reached at rmcgregor@thedickinsonpress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/SirRoyal.

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