Gymnasts Claim NEC Crown

The Britton-Hecla gymnastics team edged Deuel by .625 of a point to claim its first Northeast Conference championship since 2016 at the Region 1B meet in Madison on Thursday, also advancing to the state Class A meet this weekend.

Sterling Mertens led the Lady Braves to the NEC crown with second place finishes in vault and bars, third in floor, and fourth all-around. Kaegan Fredrickson was third on beam and fourth in vault; Kennady Van Lith was fifth in floor and eighth on beam; Ava Teveldal second on beam; Emma Kraft fifth on bars; and Jaelee Grupe sixth on beam.

“We had a very good meet on the beam, counting no falls, and that helped us clinch the NEC title,” said B-H coach Angela Grupe. “Ava Teveldal was back on beam (after an injury) and really came through for us (second place). Abby Lee was able to compete only in the uneven bars in the meet due to a hamstring injury suffered in practice the night before the regional.”

Defending state champion Estelline-Hendricks won the regional title with 142.725 points, followed by Madison with 138.475, Britton-Hecla 132.600, Deuel 131.975, Sisseton 125.600, Milbank 124.475, and West Central 27.800.

The Lady Braves squad also qualified for the state meet set for Pierre on Friday and Saturday, posting the sixthbest qualifying score among Class A teams.

B-H gymnasts qualifying for the individual competition on Saturday include Fredrickson in vault, bars, beam, floor, and all-around; Mertens in vault, bars, and floor; Van Lith in bars, beam, and floor; Kraft in bars and beam; Grupe in beam and floor; and Heer in vault.

“As a whole the Lady Braves had a solid competition and will need to hit again on Friday as we go up against tough competition at state,” noted Grupe. “Abby is a big part of our scoring threat, and it’s unknown if she will be able to compete at state. But we have great leadership on this team and our girls are very good at picking each other up and staying competitive.”