The Division 3 regular season has officially concluded after both the East and West Regionals this weekend. The top 3 teams and top individuals qualified to compete at the NCGA National Championships, which will be held from March 19 through March 20 at Brockport.

LaCrosse 191.800, Whitewater 191.400, Winona State 188.525, Oshkosh 187.400, Eau Claire 186.750, Stout 186.075, Hamline 184.875, Gustavus 184.475 [Results]

LaCrosse rallied on their home turf to win the WIAC title, counting three event scores in the 48s, and scoring the second highest regular season score in program history. Samantha Wiekamp won vault with a 9.775 and the all-around with a 38.625 (second highest in school history), Amy Enright won bars with a 9.75 as LaCrosse’s bar team took four of the top six bar scores of the day, and Leah Spankowski tied for the beam title with a 9.7. Elsa Spitzmueller led the Falcons on floor with a 9.75.

Whitewater went hard and gave it their all (and were very consistent, with all four of their event totals within two tenths of each other), but could not catch LaCrosse. Katie Fiorilli took second on vault with a 9.675, and McKenzie Smith took second on bars with a 9.725. Franchesca Hutton led the team on beam with a 9.65, where Whitewater counted all scores of 9.5 or better, Lisa O’Donnell’s 9.725 was a team high on floor, and Courtney Pickett took fourth in the all-around with a 38.05.

Winona State rounded out the top three teams that will be representing the WIAC at nationals as they scored the third best score in program history. Taylor Lewis led the team on vault with a 9.6, bars specialist Katie Pipp led the event with a 9.575, Eboni Jackson rocked beam for a 9.675, and Katie Carling led floor with a 9.525.

Oshkosh scored a season high as they earned fourth place. Krystal Walker had a stellar day, leading the team on all four events (9.575 on vault, 9.55 on bars, 9.55 on beam to tie teammate Dana LoCascio, and 9.75 on floor), as she placed third in the all-around with a 38.425. Walker’s floor score tied for third place.

Eau Claire totally killed it on floor, where they posted the third highest total, outscoring even Whitewater on that event. Their floor squad was led by a 9.725 from Liz Stubbs, and three other additional scores of 9.5 or better. Hannah Wendel led the BluGolds on vault with a 9.5, Lauren Zurowski led the team on bars with a 9.525, and beam specialist Becca Wilcox notched a team high 9.525.

Despite placing sixth, Stout had some incredible individual performances. Kelly Huseman tied for first on beam with a 9.7 and posted Stout’s best bars score (9.5). Defending National Floor Champion Kaylee Jondahl tied for first on floor with a 9.775 and led the team on vault (9.575) while placing fifth in the all-around with a 37.775.

Hamline scored their second best score of the season with a strong performance on floor. Meghan Webb led the pipers on vault (9.425), and beam (9.525), Briana Bridgeford posted a team high 9.325 on bars, and Sela Fadness rocked floor for a 9.575.

Gustavus, the unsung stars of the meet, finished an incredible season with yet more school records, scoring the second best score in program history. Alex Kopp tied for first on beam (9.7), and first on floor (9.775), and took second in the all-around with a school record 38.525. Kopp also led the team on vault (9.575) and led the Gusties on bars (9.475) to a new school record of 46.2.

Brockport 191.875, Ursinus 188.750, Cortland 188.425, Springfield 187.525, Ithaca 186.475, Rhode Island 181.075 [Results]

Brockport unsurprisingly cruised past the other five east region teams to yet another regional victory. Brockport’s 191.875 just barely edged LaCrosse’s score in the west, so Nationals should be mighty interesting with LaCrosse, Brockport, and Whitewater all being strong contenders for the national title. Brockport’s most impressive event was floor, where they scored an ENORMOUS 48.925, sweeping the top three scores and having all six scores in the top 11 of the meet. Brockport also swept the top three vault scores, with Stephanie Mager winning the event with a 9.7. Candis Kowalik and Lily Jagodzinski tied for the beam title with scores of 9.775, and Jagodzinski also took the floor title with a 9.85. Kowalik was also named NCGA East Region Rookie of the year along with RIC freshman Kyndel Yett.

Ursinus posted their second highest score of the season, which was good enough for a second place finish, and posted the highest team bar score of any other competing team. Vanessa Scalora won bars with a 9.6, and Katherine Norris tied for first on beam with a 9.775. Monique Brooks took third on floor with a 9.8, and led the team along with teammate Kelsey Stewart on vault with scores of 9.45.

Cortland punched their ticket to Nationals with a third place finish. McKenna Passalacqua, Marley Bender, and Rachel Filipski all recorded scores of 9.525 on vault, and Meghan Cobb led the Red Dragons on bars with a 9.55. Amanda Scanlon placed second on beam with a 9.75 and third in the all-around with a 37.525, and Passalacqua recorded a 9.725 on beam and team high 9.725 on floor.

Springfield had flashes of brilliance and posted the second highest team vault and beam scores, but it was not enough to top Cortland for a spot at nationals. Marissa DeAngelo led the team on floor (9.55), took second in the all-around (37.675), and was named NCGA East Region Gymnast of the Year. Heather Gomes led the Pride on vault (9.55), while Jessica Clemens and Corri Greis posted Springfield’s best bar scores (9.3). Gomes and Nicole Silva scored a pair of 9.65s to lead Springfield’s rock solid beam rotation.

Host team Ithaca posted their best beam and overall team scores of the season despite many standout athletes being sidelined with injuries. Senior Megan Harrington competed at home for the final time and went out in style, winning the all-around with a career high 38.2. Harrington led the Bombers on vault (9.55), bars (9.475), and floor (9.675). Kendra Balcerak led Ithaca’s rock solid beam team with a 9.6, with their other four scores being 9.5 or higher.

Rhode Island posted a season high bars score and the highest team score since 2004. Emma Hartan led the team on vault (9.35), while Miranda Murphy and Courtney Osborn both notched team high 9.075s on bars. Cailee Mallory led the Anchorwomen on beam with a 9.475, and Erin Shea posted RIC’s highest floor score (9.325). Freshman Kyndel Yett was named NCGA East Region Rookie of the Year alongside Candis Kowalik of Brockport.

Article by Sarah Chrane