COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The Coldwater High School Gymnastics team lost to the Adrian Maples 119.1 to 113.425 in their first meet of the season on Parents Night at the Coach Floyd Eby Gymnasium.
The Cardinals were unable to field a full team on all four events, contributing to the loss.
“We have a very young and new team with only three returning gymnasts from last year out of our 14 team members. We have been developing basics and skills and learning routines these past few weeks,” explained Coach Kim Nichols. “We were hoping to be able to put just enough girls out on the mat tonight, but we had to sideline a few due to some illness and injuries. The girls did a fantastic job considering all of the circumstances and we were very pleased with their performances.”
The Cardinals only had three gymnasts compete on the opening event instead of the standard of four for the vault. The Cardinal competitors led off with a strong start from veterans Randi Dudek and Charlotte Calhoun. The duo team captains went back to back scoring 8.225 (Calhoun) and 8.15 (Dudek) on the event. Both gymnasts picked up their first qualifying score of the season. Freshman Sofia Gruner made her debut on the vault, scoring a solid 7.275. The Cardinals put up 23.65 points to Adrian’s 32.575 points, starting the meet with nearly a nine-point deficit. Adrian’s Reese Beaulueax placed first with 8.3, followed by teammate Haylee Vore at 8.25 (2nd).
Several newcomer Cardinals also made their debuts in gymnastics for the evening, including Teagan Rabideau, Macy Poradzisz, Aroa Ramos, Halie McFarland, Halle Towers, and Natalia Blankenship.
Coldwater put together a strong finish on the uneven bars, going 1-2 with the efforts of Dudek and Calhoun. Calhoun collected the first place honors with the highest score of the evening at 8.8. Dudek finished in second place with 8.0. Rabideau began the second event for Coldwater with her first ever routine on the uneven bars. The senior hopes to improve with each competition. Sophomore Kiraly Schoenauer picked up her first qualifying score of the season, earning 7.375 points and a 5th place finish. The Maples gymnasts of Beaulueax and Vore picked up 7.65 and 7.6 to finish in the top four. The Cardinals closed the gap on Adrian with strong performances on the unevens. Coldwater tallied 28.175 points to Adrian’s 24.525, closing the margin to just over 5 points.
The Maples edged the Cardinals on the third event, the balance beam, by a narrow margin to keep the lead. Adrian posted 30.225 points to Coldwater’s 29.0. Calhoun earned first place honors once again, scoring an impressive 8.75 for her first meet. Adrian’s gymnasts took the next four places including Beaulueax, Vore, Ashley Klann, and Maria Escobar. Dudek placed sixth for her efforts (6.95) after falling on two of her elements. Schoenauer was next in line (6.7), followed by a host of Cardinals making their debut on the event. Natalia Blankenship started the team off right, followed by teammate Halle Towers. Halie McFarland (5.15) and Aroa Ramos (5.425) kept the pace going for Coldwater, building up the team. Macy Poradzisz and Sofia Gruner kept the momentum going with their efforts at 6.15 and 6.6 respectively.
The Cardinals finished the competition on their signature event the floor exercise, besting Adrian by just over one point. In spite of winning the event 32.6-31.775, the margin was just too big for Coldwater to overcome Adrian’s lead out of the first event. Reese Beaulueax picked up the first-place finish (8.55), with Vore finishing in third (8.4). Coldwater had an impressive four out of five competitors earn individual qualifying scores. Calhoun led the team with her mark of 8.45 for second place. Dudek claimed the fourth-place finish at 8.15, followed by Schoenauer with 8.1. Sofia Gruner earned the qualifying mark with her debut at 7.9. Freshman Macy Poradzisz showed she will be one to watch with her efforts at 7.125.
For the All-Around competition, Calhoun took the top honors for her tally of 34.225. She was followed by Beaulueax (32.55) and Vore (31.825) respectively. Dudek claimed the fourth place finish overall with a total score of 31.25. Sofia Gruner also competed in the all-around, earning a total of 25.775 points.
Coldwater will travel to Rockford on January 7th for the annual Flip Flop Invitational for their next competition.
(Coldwater Gymnastics Coach Kim Nichols provided information for this report)
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