After the girls varsity gymnastics team spent countless hours balancing, leaping and flipping throughout the course of the 2014-2015 season, all their preparations came down to last Saturday’s sectionals at Arrowhead High School.

And that day, Feb 28, the team peaked right when it needed to, placing fourth overall out of the eight teams there.

According to Nia Feaster, senior who placed seventh on the uneven bars at Saturday’s meet, “I believe we did very well considering a loss of many talented gymnasts.”

The loss Feaster speaks of consists of seven varsity gymnasts who graduated last year, meaning that this year a large group of new team members was brought in to fill the void.

“We did not qualify for state as we have in the past six years,” she said, “but that is because our team is just not that experienced yet.”

However, the strides the team has made were evident at sectionals as Homestead finished with a season best team score of 134.5750.

Tori Puhl, senior, remarked that, “I think our team had the best meet we have ever had at sectionals.”

Puhl also experienced success individually, placing fourth in her floor exercise and second in vault.   Her results will send her to the individual competition at state this Saturday, March 7 in Wisconsin Rapids, where she will be the only Homestead gymnast to compete.

Aside from Puhl competing at state, sectionals marked the end to the 2014-2015 season.  Reflecting on this past year, Feaster said, “Although this season our expectations were pretty low, we really stepped up to the plate and peaked at the perfect time.”

And for the team filled with many young gymnasts who kept improving until the end, there lies great promise for the next chapter of varsity girls gymnastics— the 2015-2016 season.