This previous Monday, January 30, the Forest Hills gymnastics ladies tumbled into their competition against the Lowell arrows. After their last loss to Lowell, the ladies’ spirits were not too high, though there was one thing the ladies competed for. 

“We were not looking to win this meet at all; our goal was to earn more qualifying scores for those who need them, which was very successful,” senior captain Charlotte Stephan. 

The team faced similar challenges in this competition as they did in the past. Vital girls were missing from the roster at the previous meet. Many girls were injured too. The ladies usually find themselves with uncomfortable and unsteady energy against Lowell, but the energy was colossally different. 

“Everyone was cheering really loud and getting into the meet,” said Charlotte. “It really helped take the negativity away.”

The gymnasts pulled through some pretty good scores. Senior Lauren Wolffis obtained a score of 7.8 on bars. Senior Maddy Bachert gained an 8.35 on vault and an 8.25 on beam. Junior Rachael “Jo” Yeager also secured an 8.25 on the beam as well as an 8.725 on the floor. In total, the team achieved a score of 128.575. 

Within the meet, the girls found themselves performing exceptionally well. Charlotte Stephan got her last qualifying score on bars, meaning she is now qualified for all-around. Maddy finally landed her new tumbling pass, and in addition, she had an excellent floor routine. Rachael got her last vault, beam, and floor scores which means she, too, is qualified for all-around. Another senior captain, the infamous Abby Cummings, secured her last vault qualifying score, adding to the number of qualifiers for all-around. 

Despite competing well, there are still many flips to perfect and twists to improve. The team will be heading into the postseason soon, so many ladies will be working on various upgrades and minor tweaks. 

The team will be putting its skills to the test on Wednesday, February 8; the girls will be traveling to Rockford to compete in a non-conference-quad at 6:30 p.m.