ROCKFORD, MI (WTVB) – The Coldwater Cardinal Gymnastics team finished eighth on Saturday at the Rockford flip-flop invitational. With teams from all over the state in attendance, the competition is an early season preview of the contenders for team state finals.
The Coldwater gymnasts collected their third straight team qualifying score (131.425) and need just one more to secure their place in the postseason regional competition. It was a true team effort as the squad was limited to only five competitors. Coldwater Coach Kim Nichols said, ”We had a plan going into the competition, but had to make several adjustments as the day went on. I decided to sit out Layla to save her for the upcoming conference competitions, which meant that several of the girls had to step into different roles today than what we had originally planned. I was very pleased to see the outcome and some of the girls digging deep to step up in the moment. The fact that we still posted over 130 points shows you the depth of our team this year and how much they pulled through.”
At the end of the day, the Coldwater gymnasts had collected 16 individual qualifying scores at the meet.
Coldwater began on the vault and posted their best performance of the day with the team total of 34.125 points. Every single vaulter earned a qualifying score and two Cardinals collected personal bests: Charlotte Calhoun (8.6) and Kaylee Slusarski (8.575).
On the uneven bars, the team tallied 32.075 total points. Layla Schoch led the team with her fifth place performance, scoring 8.5 points in Division 1. Calhoun posted her second straight personal record at 8.425, and finished in seventh place for division 2.
Calhoun finished fourth overall on the balance beam. She continued her streak of stuck routines and individual qualifiers for the third meet in a row, earning 8.9 points.
Coldwater picked up four more individual qualifying scores on the floor exercise for their team total of 33.475 points. Randi Dudek led the squad with a score of 8.775 points.
In the all-around competition, Calhoun’s had a personal best tally of 34.675 points and finished eighth.
The gymnasts have also begun collecting donations for their 12th annual Stick It For a Cure fundraiser. As part of those efforts, the team will be hosting youth lessons every Tuesday starting this week. All of the money raised will go towards the Stick It fundraising efforts.
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