The Worthington Trojans gymnastics team competed at the state A meet for the eighth consecutive year Friday night and placed fifth at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul. The Trojans compiled 141.950 points; Watertown-Mayer/Mound-Westonka came out on top with 145.750 points.
The best event for the Trojans Friday night was the floor, as Worthington took second place among the eight competing teams with a score of 36.925. WHS was fourth as a team on the vault, tied for fifth on the bars and sixth on the beam.
While WHS had to settle for fifth in Friday’s competition, the Trojans did earn the state academic championship for the second consecutive year.
In Saturday individual Class A competition, sophomore Hali Bullerman finished 12th overall in the all-around with a score of 36.45 and senior Mekyla Nystrom was 18th at 35.05. Bullerman earned marks of 9.3 on the floor, 9.2 on the vault, 8.95 on the bars and 8.8 on the beam. Nystrom received scores of 9.2 on the floor, 9.2 on the vault, 9.025 on the bars and 7.775 on the beam.
Senior Abby Bristow competed individually and placed 15th on the beam at 9.075, 22nd in floor exercise at 9.15 and 36th on the vault at 9.025. Sophomore Olivia Barber was 20th on the beam at 8.9, 24th in floor exercise at 9.15 and 32nd on the bars at 8.625.
Additionally, Junior Kelsey Soleta was 32nd on the vault at 9.1 and 47th on bars at 7.975, and freshman Kenadie Thiner was 33rd on the vault at 9.075.
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Top-seeded and state-ranked Jackson County Central won the Section 3A wrestling tournament Saturday afternoon in Slayton, first beating Fulda/Murray County Central 82-0 in the semifinals and then defeating Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 60-6 for the championship. The Section 3A individual tourney is this coming Saturday in Wabasso.
In Section 3AA, top-seeded and state-ranked Fairmont-Martin County West won the tournament title on Saturday at home, topping MAHACA 41-24 in the semis and Hutchinson 32-25 for the championship. The Section 3AA individual event is this Saturday in Redwood Falls.
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In boys hockey over the weekend, Worthington played outdoor games on both Friday and Saturday against Winona Cotter, going 1-1.
In Friday’s contest, the Trojans grabbed a 2-0 first-period lead and went on to earn a 5-4 victory. Levi Kuhl, Konner Honius and Blake Luinenburg each scored in the first period. Winona Cotter would tie things up at 3 in the second, but Ian Bumgardner and Caden Van Briesen scored in third to help clinch the victory.
Luinenburg chipped in with a pair of assists in the triumph. Goalie Steven Adams had 23 saves.
On Saturday, Winona Cotter got a measure of revenge by topping the Trojans, 4-3. Worthington will be the sixth seed in the Section 3A boys hockey tournament, which begins Thursday; the Trojans will play at Luverne at 7 p.m. In another first-round game Thursday night, No. 5 Windom will play at No. 4 Marshall. The semifinals will be played on Feb. 28 and the title game on March 2.
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The Minnesota West Lady Jays couldn’t quite recover from a rough second quarter during which Rochester outscored them 22-5, and the Yellow Jackets won a Saturday afternoon for the Southern Division title with a 74-69 triumph over the visiting Jays.
Trailing 46-25 at halftime, Minnesota West came out strong in the third quarter and outscored the Yellow Jackets 28-15 to fight their way back into the game. Ranked eighth in the nation, the Lady Jays couldn’t quite complete the comeback, and finish the regular season with an 11-3 record in divisional play and 15-12 overall. Rochester is 13-1 and 20-5 and ranked fifth nationally.
Emily Breske topped Minnesota West with 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Macie Werdel and Tia Murray contributed 14 points apiece as well. Mackensie Post added 11 points and eight rebounds for Minnesota West, which was hurt by 28 turnovers.
The Lady Jays are next slated to play at 8 p.m. Saturday against Mesabi at regionals. The winner will play for a berth in the national tournament at 5 p.m. Sunday. Both weekend games are at Anoka-Ramsey.
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The Minnesota West men’s basketball team, meanwhile, wrapped up its season this weekend with games at Rochester on Saturday and at Riverland on Sunday.
The Bluejays dropped a 90-68 decision to Rochester; Amos Alford led Minnesota West with 29 points and 10 rebounds, while Steve Ndumbe added 17 points and Bubba Sohn 10. Minnesota West has now completed its season with records of 2-12 and 5-21.
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Olivia Hayenga scored 28 points as the Worthington Trojans’ girls basketball team topped visiting Southwest Minnesota Christian on Friday night, 69-59.
The Trojans led by 12 late in the first half, but the Eagles scored the last seven points before the break to make it a 34-29 game. WHS then rebuilt its double-digit edge in the second half behind Hayenga and Brooklyn Scheitel-Taylor, who netted 14 points to go along with seven steals and five assists. Hayenga also had seven steals for the Trojans; Tarren Spartz added 11 points and six rebounds.
Southwest Minnesota Christian, which dropped to 18-6 on the season, was led by Makenna Moss’ 17 points and Ana Veldkamp’s 15 points.
WHS then traveled to Hutchinson on Saturday afternoon and suffered a 54-43 setback. Spartz had 19 points and Hayenga 12 as the Trojans fell to 14-10. Next up is the regular-season finale, which will be at home Tuesday against New Ulm.
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In boys basketball Saturday, Andrew Mulder led WHS with 15 points in his first varsity start of the season, but Hutchinson wound topping the Trojans 71-60 Saturday afternoon in Worthington.
The Trojans led by as many as eight early before the Tigers rallied and grabbed a 33-30 halftime edge. The Trojans then started slowly in the second half, and Hutchinson would lead by as many as 14.
Abagotte Opiew and Marenono Opiew each had 12 points for WHS, and Jake Brandner had 10. The Trojans are now 6-15.
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In other action over the weekend:
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Edgerton 88, Madelia 32
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 51, St. James Area 49
Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda 53, Renville County West 40
Hill-Murray 52, Marshall 47
West Lyon 45, Forest City 33
Windom 71, Mountain Lake Area-Comfrey 69 (2 OT)
Pipestone Area 59, Lakeview 38
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 49, Springfield 30
Luverne 57, Jackson County Central 49
BOYS BASKETBALL
Pipestone Area 55, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 53
Blue Earth 63, Jackson County Central 51
Moorhead 80, Marshall 52
Central Lyon 68, Boyden-Hull 49
Sibley-Ocheyedan 58, Sioux Central 38
BOYS HOCKEY
Marshall 8, Waseca 1
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