Blue Jays third in tough field

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Abbie Conlon twists on to the beam during the KC Invite Friday night at the Jamestown Gymnastics Club. John M. Steiner The Sun

Talk about it

Despite an imperfect meet, coach Dave Tews still has to like where his team sits in the big picture.

Hosting four of the top five teams in the state, the Blue Jays posted a solid 135.050 to finish behind Bismarck and Dickinson, both of which cleared 139. Bismarck Century was a distant fourth with only heavyweight Minot missing from the state’s top five.

“Considering we were off and we were missing kids, it wasn’t too bad,” Tews said. “We had some kids trying some new stuff on bars and floor. It’s still a work in progress, but we’re trying.”

Bismarck had three of the top five all-arounders.

Erin Hillerud paced JHS. She was one of three Jays in the 33s, but nobody got higher. Her best mark and place came on vault (9.050) where she was fifth.

“She was trying new moves. That’s never easy, but she was out there letting it fly,” Tews said.

Madison Mandan had a nice meet, finishing at 33.325, including team-bests on floor (8.7) and beam (8.75).

“She had a couple really nice events for us,” Tews said.

Jenna Stilwell has been, “pretty steady for us,” Tews said. The sophomore’s 9.1 on vault, good for fourth, was the highest score of the meet.

Jayden Diemert (32.400) and Kaiann Arellano (32.250) each cleared 32.

Seventh-grader Hannah Schiele got high marks from Tews for scoring on vault and bars despite a hand injury.

Senior Alex Lind missed the meet due to an illness.

“There’s still some untapped potential. I think we have the capability to score higher in some spots,” Tews said. “It’s a work in progress, but we’re doing some good things.”

The Blue Jays hit the road Thursday for Wahpeton where the Huskies, Valley City and Grand Forks also will compete.

KC Invite

Team results

1, Bismarck 139.750; 2, Dickinson 139.375; 3, Jamestown 135.050; 4, Bismarck Century 131.275.

Individual results

All around

1, Jessica Gabriel, BC, 36.550; 2, Mikaela Kessel, DHS, 35.900; 3, Kaylee Keller, BHS, 35.875; 4, Katlin Kelley, BHS, 35.275; 5, Megan Kelley, 35.125.

JHS results

7, Erin Hillerud, JHS, 33.950; 12, Madison Mandan, 33.325; 13, Jenna Stilwell, 33.050; 15, Jayden Diemert, 32.400; 16, Kaiann Arellano, 32.250.

Vault

1, Keana Kudrna, DHS, 9.325; 2, Gabriel, BC, 9.275; 3, Mckenzie Kostelecky, 9.150; 4, Stilwell, JHS, 9.1; 5, Hillerud, JHS, 9.050.

Other JHS results

13T, Hannah Schiele, 8.6; 13T, Diemert, 8.6; 15T, Abbie Conlon, 8.5; 19T, Arellano, 8.35; 19T, Glynna Godfrey, 8.35; 23, Mandan, 8.3.

Beam

1, K.Kelley, BHS, 9.475; 2, M.Kelley, BHS, 9.35; 3, Kessel, DHS, 9.15; 4, Whitney Perrin, BC, 9.1; 5, Keller, BHS, 8.825.

JHS results

6, Mandan, 8.75; 7T, Stilwell, 8.7; 7T, Hillerud, 8.7; 13, Arellano, 7.575; 14, Jayden Diemert, 7.35; 21, Conlon, 6.975; 22, Schiele, 6.375.

Bars

1, Keller, BHS, 9.525; 2, Gabriel, BC, 9.35; 3, Chantal Urlacher, DHS, 9.125; 4, Kostelecky, DHS, 8.975; 5, K.Kelley, BHS, 8.625.

JHS results

12, Diemert, 8.15; 14, Schiele, 8.075; 15, Arellano, 8.0; 17, Conlon, 7.825; 20, Hillerud, 7.7; 21, Mandan, 7.575; 24, Stilwell, 6.85; 25, Godfrey, 6.4.

Floor

1, Kessel, DHS, 9.525; 2, Gabriel, BC, 9.425; 3, Kudrna, DHS, 9.075; 4, Kostelecky, DHS, 8.95; 5, Mandan, 8.7.

Other JHS results

11, Hillerud, 8.5; 13T, Stilwell, 8.4; 15, Arellano, 8.325; 16T, Godfrey, 8.3; 16T, Diemert, 8.3.

Sun sports editor Dave Selvig can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by e-mail at dselvig@jamestownsun.com

Tags: sports, jays, gymnastics