MOUNT HOREB — The Belmont/Lancaster gymnastics team returned to action Saturday, Jan. 9 at the Mount Horeb Invitational after a month-long break between competitions.

     The Hillmen (ranked 14th in the latest Division 2 poll) posted an aggregate score of 122.45 to finish fourth out of seven teams in the Red Division (D2) at the 14-team event.

     “The meet at Mount Horeb showed us we have a lot of potential, but we need to continue to work hard to improve our results,” said P/B/L head coach Jessica Hill. “We started on floor. We had some well-performed skills, along with some falls that hurt our team score. Vault was our second event. I was very happy with our performance. Every vaulter had a strong performance. Our third event was bars. We struggled to swing full routines. We have solid skills on this event but need to work on our endurance to improve our meet performance. Our final event was beam. Similarly to floor we had some solid skills but falls took a toll on our team score.”

     Lancaster sophomore Allison Stader tied for sixth on the balance beam (8.15) and placed 10th overall in the all-around with a score of 31.1.

     Lancaster senior Alyssa Bainbridge finished ninth on the uneven bars (7.725), tied for 10th on the vault (8.225) and placed 11th in the all-around (30.8).

     Platteville junior Grace Hammermeister turned in top-10 performances in the balance beam (tied 6th, 8.15), floor (8th, 8.3) and vault (tied 8th, 8.25), and finished 13th in the all-around (30.225).

     On Monday, Jan. 11, the Hillmen posted a season-best score to defeat visiting River Valley 129.875–110.525 in an SWC dual at PHS.

     “After our Mount Horeb performance, it was good to see the team perform at a higher level,” said P/B/L coach Jessica Hill. “Their ability to put together whole routines can be seen in the improvement of the team score.

     Monday’s SWC dual meet at Dodgeville was postponed due to frigid temperatures and will be made up Monday, Feb. 1 at 6 p.m. The Hillmen will return to action Saturday at the Southwestern/Cuba City Invitational at SWHS, before returning to Hazel Green Monday night to face the Wildcats in a SWC dual meet.

Mount Horeb Invitational
(from Saturday, Jan. 9 @ Mount Horeb)
Red Division team scores — 1.Mount Horeb 132.80, 2.Viroqua 129.9, 3.Dodgeville/Mineral Point 126.25,  4.Platteville/Belmont/Lancaster 122.45, 5.Jefferson 111.5, 6.River Valley 106.95, 7.Prairie du Chien/Fennimore 69.45.
Platteville/Belmont/Lancaster’s
individual results
All-around — 10.Allison Stader 31.1, 11.Alyssa Bainbridge 30.8, 13.Grace Hammermeister 30.225. Floor Exercise — 8.Hammermeister 8.3, 15(tie).Bainbridge 7.85, 15(tie).Stader 7.85, 23.Lindsey Wolf 7.25, 27.Brooke Pagliaro 6.65. Vault — 8(tie).Hammermeister 8.25, 10(tie).Bainbridge 8.225, 16(tie).Stader 8.0, 16(tie).Rand 8.0, 20.Pagliaro 7.925. Uneven bars — 9.Bainbridge 7.725, 13.Rand 7.55, 17.Stader 7.1, 19.Mikayla Vincent 6.2, 23.Hammermieister 5.525. Balance Beam — 6(tie).Hammermeister 8.15, 6(tie).Stader 8.15, 18(tie).Bainbridge 7.0, 20.Rand 6.850, 25.Pagliaro 6.15.

Pla./Bel./Lan. 129.875, River Valley 110.525
(from Monday, Jan. 11 @ Platteville)
Platteville/Belmont/Lancaster’s
individual results
All-around — 1.Hammermeister 33.35, 3.Alyssa Bainbridge 32.9, 4.Allison Stader 32.225. Vault — 2(tie).Bainbridge 8.35, 2(tie).Hammermeister 8.35, 4.Rand 8.25, 5.Stader 8.2, 6.Pagliaro 8.15. Uneven bars — 2.Bainbridge 8.075, 3.Rand 7.725, 4.Stader 7.65, 5.Hammermieister 7.425, 6.Mikayla Vincent 7.325. Balance Beam — 1.Stader 8.825, 2.Hammermeister 8.425, 3.Bainbridge 8.125, 6.Rand 7.125, 7.Pagliaro 6.25. Floor Exercise — 1.Hammermeister 9.15, 3.Bainbridge 8.35, 4.Pagliaro 7.95, 5.Lindsey Wolf 7.9, 6.Stader 7.55.