With head coach Jessica Hill watching her son Jordan Kress competing at the WIAA state championships in Madison Friday night, and Lancaster Brianna Gardner home sick Platteville/Belmont/Lancaster the gymnastics team was a little shorthanded for the SWC Championships.
     With a solid team effort, some great coaching from assistants Tom Hill, Jessica’s husband, and Danielle Hentrich, the Hillmen filled the coaching shoes of their missing coach and teammate en route to winning a fourth consecutive conference title.
     Senior Jackie Runde, Haley Hentrich and Courtney Bowen swept the all-around compeition, finishing first, second and third, while juniors Brooke Groom and Danielle Hentrich, along with freshman Jenna Phillips picked up the slack in Gardner’s absence.
     Runde won the bars (8.90) and beam (9.025), and finished with an all-around score of 36.30.
     Hentrich won the vault (9.30) and the floor (9.425) to post a second-place all-around score of 36.225.
     Bowen posted a 34.350 to finish third in the all-around.
     Phillips earned a third-place finish on the beam with a score of 8.80.
     The Platteville co-op posted a season-best team score of 130.325 to easily out-point runner-up River Valley’s 133.975 to claim the title.
     “The team had an outstanding meet, recording the highest team score of the season,” said Hill. “We will need to stay focused on continuous improvement through sectionals. Every tenth will count.”
     The Hillmen will travel to the WIAA Division 2 Elkhorn Sectional Saturday. Competition begins at noon.
     The top two teams, as well as the top five gymnasts in all four individual events and the all-around, will qualify for next week’s WIAA State Championships in Wisconsin Rapids.

SWC Championships
(from Friday, Feb. 15 @ Prairie du Chien)
Team Scores — 1.Platteville/Belmont/Lancaster 140.325, 2.River Valley 133.975, 3.Dodgeville/Mineral Point 116.80, 4.Southwestern/Cuba City 113.475, 5.Prairie du Chien 110.05.

Platteville/Belmont/Lancaster’s top finishers
All-around — 1.Jackie Runde 36.30, 2.Haley Hentrich 36.225, 3.Courtney Bowen 34.350.
Vault — 1.Hentrich 9.30, 2.Runde 9.0, 6.Bowen 8.55, 13(tie).Brooke Groom 8.20, 13(tie).Danielle Jentz 8.20. Uneven Bars — 1.Runde 8.90, 4.Bowen 8.575, 5.Hentrich 8.55, 6.Jenna Phillips 8.0, 13(tie).Danielle Jentz 7.05. Balance Beam — 1.Runde 9.025, 2.Hentrich 8.950, 3.Phillips 8.80, 6.Bowen 8.175, 8.Groom 7.80. Floor Exercise — 1.Hentrich 9.425, 2.Runde 9.375, 4(tie).Bowen 9.050, 9(tie).Groom 8.450, 11.Phillips 8.40.