The Dickinson High gymnastics team made the Western Dakota Association gymnastics meet one to remember.
"I guess I'm happy," Midgets coach Kent Van Ells said. "You wake up the morning of a big meet and wonder how you're going to feel at the end of the day."
The Midgets had several reasons to celebrate after the meet at Dickinson High.
Dickinson swept every individual championship, took the top four spots in the all around and totaled 145.525 team points. The Midgets also defeated rival Minot for the first time this season by a margin of 3.875 points.
"I guess overall, I am most proud of the fact that Dickinson got every championship," VanElls said. "Quite often when a team wins several championships, it's the same person. In gymnastics, it's not unusual for a very talented gymnast to win a bunch of championships. This is a tribute to our depth."
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Dickinson eighth grader Kelsey Dukart was the all-around champion with 36.550 points.
"Kelsey may not have won any single event," VanElls said. "But she was consistent. She scored better than a nine on every event and that is quite an accomplishment. That is the kind of consistency you really want."
Eighth grader Brogan Burwick won the uneven parallel bars with 9.450 points and took second place in the all around with 36.025.
"This is the second meet she completed a double back dismount on the bars," VanElls said. "She hit it really well and when she does that, it's such a nice finish to her routine. It makes her stand out."
Senior Mara VanElls, who was awarded WDA senior athlete of the year, took the top spot on the beam with a score of 9.075 and placed third in the all around with 35.875.
"This is the first time Mara has ever scored a nine," VanElls said. "For her to win the championship on beam is really a huge accomplishment."
Junior Jennifer Bachamp was the champion on the floor with a 9.450 and took fourth in the all around. Junior Lexi Stickel took first place in the vault with 9.300 points.
"Lexi has done really good vaults in the past," Kent VanElls said. "But today, she did two really good vaults and the second one she landed without a movement."
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The Midgets toughest rival this season has been Minot. The teams met three times during the regular season and Minot came out on top each time.
"It's exciting to finally beat Minot," Bachamp said.
Sarah Brackett led the Majettes with a 35.325 all-around finish.
Because East and West Regions are no longer sanctioned by the North Dakota High School Activities Association, all teams in the state will compete at the North Dakota state gymnastics meet in Bismarck next weekend.
"I've got to temper this a little bit with the fact that Minot had some trouble," VanElls said. "The reality is that they could come back and hit everything next weekend and we could be the ones having trouble."
