East Ridge Gymnastics Enjoying Record Year

gymnastics head coach Brittany Simmons had modest goals for the 2011-2012 season when she took over the Raptors this year.

“The expectations were really just trying to beat our scores from last year, pushing the numbers up a bit,” said Simmons.

Mission accomplished.

What started off as a modest goal of improvement has turned into a stellar first-half to the season in which the East Ridge gymnasts have not only exceeded last year’s scores, but have recently broke the all-time school record for scoring in a meet with a 142.615 in a victory over perennial power and No. 4-ranked Park High School.

East Ridge has ridden the improvements to an undefeated mark at the halfway point and a No. 6 slot in Class AA in the latest Minnesota Girls Gymnastics Coaches Association rankings.

“I think the season has been going pretty good,” said Simmons. “I don’t think that we have peaked yet, we still have a lot of room for improvement.”

The Raptors have been winning on the strength of standouts Leah Robinette, Megan Troller and Kelly McKenzie. But they have also been winning with depth. During the recent victory over Park that resulted in the new school scoring record, 13 of the 19 gymnasts on the roster were plugged into the competition lineup.

“I definitely live by the motto that everyone deserves a chance to compete,” said Simmons. “I don’t solely base my lineup on scores, I also base it on work ethic and attitude at practice.”

That could mean a revolving lineup that changes with each meet, but it also means that contributions are coming from all corners of the roster that includes just two seniors. The performances from the younger girls on the team mean East Ridge could be set up for a continued run among the state gymnastics elite in the coming years.

“A lot of the younger girls are really looking up to the older varsity girls,” said Simmons. “They’re taking in a lot of information and they’re learning a lot. I think that our junior varsity team is really coming together as well. They’re going to creep up in the numbers until the end of the season, so its good to see.”

Simmons said she was a little uncertain how this year’s squad would perform coming into the season, but she also admits to being pleasantly surprised.

“I didn’t really know what to expect,” she said. “I knew what the girls were like last year, but we had a lot of new faces and a brand new coaching staff so the transition I was nervous about. I’m not that surprised (about the performance). I know the girls have potential to be a really good team, its just a matter of hitting on everything on all of the events.”

East Ridge will get another chance to see how they measure up against elite competition with a date against four-time state champions Roseville on Feb. 9 before heading into sections where they will again have to contend with Park for a shot at a state tournament appearance.

“I don’t want to push the girls too hard yet because we still have a lot of exciting meets coming up with some really good competition,” said Simmons. “So we just want to keep up the momentum. We certainly don’t want to backtrack at all. We’ll just try to keep it going.”