Park gymnastics: Wolfpack wows with season-high 144.225

Just weeks away from the Section 3AA championship meet, the Park gymnastics team might be peaking at just the right time.

A week after cracking the 140-point mark for the first time this year, the Wolfpack scored a season-best 144.225 to take second place at its own Park Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 19, held in the gym of Park High School.

The 10-team meet brought in a handful of the state’s top teams. No. 2-ranked Roseville won the meet with an eye-popping 148.6. Roseville, the defending Class AA state champion, won the state title last year with a 149.325. The meet also included fifth-ranked Winona, which took third (142.850), sixth-ranked Wayzata (140.875), 12th-ranked Eden Prairie (139.100) and eighth-ranked Stillwater (138.675).

Park, which is ranked seventh — low because it has been shorthanded for the early part of the year — also likely opened some eyes with its score.

The Wolfpack finished second in the vault (37.6), on the beam (35.525) and in the floor exercise (36.350) and tied for third on the bars (34.750). Roseville finished first in each event.

Park senior Kasondra Tulloch led the way for the Wolfpack in the meet, winning the all-around with an impressive 37.650. North St. Paul’s Julia Stedman won the all-around state championship in Class AA last year with a 38.3375. Tulloch was able to top Roseville’s Isis Muller (37.375) and Emily Van Krevelen (37.075) along with Eden Prairie’s Abby Soderberg (37.275) in the win. Tulloch’s top score came in the floor exercise with a 9.6. She also had a 9.550 in the vault, a 9.350 on the bars and a 9.150 on the beam.

In addition to Tulloch, Park’s Sarah Schank and McKay Zurn continued to impress. Schank, a sophomore, scored 35.650 in the all-around. Zurn, a senior, scored a 34.825 in the all-around.

Schank scored a 9.150 in the floor exercise, a 9.1 in the vault, an 8.750 on the bars and an 8.650 on the beam. Zurn scored a 9.050 in the floor exercise, an 8.825 on the beam, an 8.6 on the bars and an 8.350 in the vault.

Park’s Rachel Deephouse returned to the Wolfpack lineup and added to the wow-factor. Deephouse, a senior, competed in just one event — the vault — but scored a 9.5 in her first meet in nearly a month after injuring her ankle in late December.

Park junior Sarah LaBrosse also had a strong meet, turning in a 33.80 all-around score, which included a 9.4 on the vault, her best score of the meet. Fellow junior Allie Minogue also scored well in the vault, turning in a 9.150, while also scoring an 8.550 in the floor exercise. Senior Morgan Schank scored an 8.90 to contribute to Park’s score on the beam, while eighth-grader Emma Harvang also registered one of Park’s top four scores in the bars, scoring an 8.050.

Park also took on Woodbury last week in a Suburban East Conference meet. The Wolfpack took down the Royals 138.775 to 129.55.

Next, Park hosts SEC foe Forest Lake on Thursday, Jan. 24, in Cottage Grove. The meet is set to start at 6:30 p.m.

Tags: sports, gymnastics, park, wolfpack, prep, updates