School-best mark propels Champlin Park gymnastics to state

The Champlin Park gymnastics team posted a program-best score last week to win the Class 2A, Section 5 meet.

The Rebels' mark of 142.725 beat out the record of 141.975 that stood for eight years.

Sophomore Taylor Guckeen and freshman Liz Hammond played key roles in reaching the new milestone.

Hammond posted her second-highest all-around of the season with a 37.05 and qualified for the state meet in all five events: vault (9.4), uneven bars (9.125), balance beam (9.075) and floor exercise (9.45).

Guckeen set new personal bests in uneven bars (8.8), beam (9.55) and vault (9.25). Her floor exercise score of 9.575 tied her own school record. She set a new team all-around record, besting Hammond's 37.1 with a 37.125. Guckeen qualified for state in every individual event except vault.

"Going into the meet, our team high score for the season had been a 139.1," Rebels' coach Jon Wynia wrote. "The week just before the meet, one of our biggest section rivals, Mounds View, had posted a score of a 139.65. So we knew we would need our best meet and then some."

Irondale's Keaven Fikes blocked 15 shots as the Knights fell 78-66 to Columbia Heights last week. The flurry of rejections by Fikes, a 6-8 senior, ranks as the 11th-most blocks in a game in state history.

The championship game on Feb. 28 at the State Fair Coliseum will be one of the last hockey games played at the building. Ice no longer will be put in after this season ends.

Section 7 could rank as the state's deepest collection of teams, led by No. 1 seed Duluth East. No. 2 seed Elk River and No. 3 Andover will be poised for upsetting the Greyhounds. Elk River made noise earlier this season, knocking off defending state champion Edina. Andover won 12 of its final 13 regular season games.