(photo by Jim Lindquist)
The Tigers ranked fifth in a 16-team field at the Faribault Invitational held Saturday, Jan. 7, in Faribault.
Defending state champion Northfield won the team title with 147.18 points. Lakeville North was a distant second at 140.325, followed by Cambridge-Isanti 136.975, Owatonna 136.875, Farmington 132.525, Waseca 132.25, Forest Lake 132.05, Elk River 132.0, Rogers 130.85, Faribault 128.75, MCW 128.025, Byron/Rochester Lourdes 127.75, Rochester Century 127.375, Breck 124.325, Mayo 99.55 and Rochester John Marshall 99.45.
"The girls had a fun meet," coach Lynn Baumann said "Everyone stayed very positive and supportive of each other.
"We are getting there one step at a time. We still need to clean our routines up but we have lots of potential with this team."
Kylie Wharton was the only Tiger to find a way to the podium for ranking in the top ten. Wharton scored a 9.3 in floor exercise and 8.85 on the balance beam.
Baumann said her team's score probably would have been higher had regulars Tahra Eckert and Jade Alm not been out due to injury.
"The difficulty of our routines is also much higher than last year," she said. "I have judges and coaches talking to me all the time about how good our team is. We just need to be all on together."
The Tigers return to Missota Conference action Tuesday night with a road dual meet with Northfield. Saturday they host their annual invitational meet with Austin, Minneapolis South and Columbia Heights at the District Service Center.
