EAU CLAIRE — The West Salem co-op gymnastics team is a WIAA state qualifier for the fifth year in a row.
The Panthers, who also include Aquinas and Bangor in the co-op, used a score of 139.0 to place second at the Division 1 Eau Claire Sectional on Saturday and secure a spot in the team state tournament at Wisconsin Rapids next weekend.
They also have four individual qualifiers for the tournament, which includes team competition on Friday and individual competition on Saturday.
West Salem placed eighth during its first season as a Division 1 program a year ago and had two straight runner-up Division 2 performances the two previous years.
“Qualifying for the (Division 1) state tournament again is an honor,” West Salem coach Carrie O’Hearn said. “Five years in a row is impressive, and this senior class has been a huge part of four of those seasons.
Camdyn (Lyga), Olivia (Maki) and Hayden (Rohde) led the team through their experience.”
Lyga won the floor exercise with a 9.3, placed second on the vault with a 9.125 and was third all-around with a 35.1. She will participate as an individual in all of those at state.
Rohde matched Lyga’s win on the floor with a victory on the uneven bars and score of 9.175.
Maki was third on the vault (9.1), and Grace Olson was fourth on the balance beam (8.775) to round out the qualifying individual performances.
The only team to beat West Salem was the Eau Claire Memorial co-op, which received a 139.2 from the judges. The top two sectional teams qualify for state.
“Grace started us on beam with a gorgeous routine,” O’Hearn said. “Floor ended with Camdyn’s iconic floor title.”
Brielle Moore did not qualify individually, but she was ninth all-around (33.45) and sixth on the vault (9.0).
Holmen placed fifth as a team with a score of 131.15, and the Logan/Central co-op was seventh with a 119.75.
Ava Amundson led the Vikings with a seventh-place showing on the balance beam (8.575) but did not qualify.
Logan/Central was led by Elena Wagner, who was 12th all-around (33.05).
