Perham senior lands in right spot

What Kelsi Vomacka wanted was no secret.

The Perham senior was not interested in playing coy or giving pat answers. Any false modesty was just that.

After four consecutive second-place finishes in the all-around competitions at the Class 1A gymnastics state meet, what sense would it make to deny the obvious?

"All I wanted was to not finish second again," Vomacka said.

After her performance in Saturday's individual competition, there was little chance of that. Vomacka turned in what she admitted was the best effort of her career, posting a 38.725 -- one-quarter of a point off of the 1A state record -- to finish her career with the one thing she wanted more than anything else: an all-around championship.

"My nickname back home is Silver," Vomacka said, referring to the repeated runner-up finishes. "I laugh it off and take it in stride, but underneath I do take it seriously. You don't know how much I've thought about this."

Vomacka's biggest challenge came from the gymnasts closest to her. Section 8 rival -- and friend -- Amy Crawford of Detroit Lakes won the uneven bars and the balance beam and finished second in the all-around with a score of 38.075. Teammate Carly Peterson won the vault and was fourth in the all-round with a 36.75.

"I think I was more nervous for Kelsi than I was for myself," said Peterson. "She's like a teacher for me. She's taught me so much. No one deserves it more than she does. She's my hero."

Vomacka opened with a 9.65 on the beam, followed by her state-meet-winning floor exercise routine. After that, it was clear that the meet was hers to lose.

"With all of the facts surrounding this, I think that was my best meet ever," Vomacka said. "Why not do it at the state meet?"

While Vomacka had the best overall meet, Peterson had the meet's "wow" moment.

The defending champion in the vault had not been hitting, either in Friday's team competition or her first attempt Saturday.

"I was freaking out," said Peterson, who has been performing her handspring front somersault vault for three years. "I can do that vault in my sleep. I kept thinking 'This is my senior year. I can't go out this way.' "

She didn't. Peterson nailed her final vault and scored 9.825, the best score of the entire meet to that point, capturing her second vault title.

"That was amazing," Peterson said. "When I hit the [vaulting] table, I knew it was a done deal. I knew I did it."

An anniversary to rememberShe didn't compete in Saturday's individual competition, but freshman Sarah LaBrosse played a key role for Park of Cottage Grove in the Wolfpack's third-place finish in the Class 2A team meet Friday.

LaBrosse competed in three events and even posted a 9.475 in the vault. But what makes LaBrosse's achievement remarkable is that she nearly didn't live to long enough to become a gymnast.

"I was told that they didn't expect me to live more than one year," LaBrosse said.

Thursday was the 12th anniversary of LaBrosse's recovery. She still takes medication to combat growth issues but has no other residual effects of her cancer.