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| Kiana Lord |
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| Kylie Wharton (photos by Jim Lindquist) |
Senior Kiana Lord and sophomore Kyle Wharton are headed to next week's Class AA state gymnastics meet at the University of Minnesota.
Lord earned a 9.625 score to place third in floor exercise and Wharton ranked fourth on the balance beam with an 8.975 mark at Friday night's Section 3AAA Championships at Eagan to make the elite state field. The top four entrants in each event and all-around qualified for state.
Lord and Wharton weren't the only Farmington performers to turn in quality performances at the section finals. The 16th-ranked Tigers finished third in the final eight-team standings, totaling a season-high 140.525 points in the process.
Park of Cottage Grove won the section team title with 145.65 points. Rosemount took second with 143.45 followed by Farmington 140.525, Eagan 138.15, East Ridge 137.6, Woodbury 131.1, Hastings 127.275 and Henry Sibley 109.225.
Lord is no stranger to state meet competition. She won all-state honors with a sixth place finish on the balance beam and ranked 19th in all-around at the 2011 state finals.
Wharton's state meet berth is her first and is especially satisfying as she missed several early season meets due to injury.
Individual competition at the state meet will begin at 6:00 p.m. next Saturday night at the University of Minnesota Sports Pavilion.
