Austin Packers gymnastics team 5th at Big 9 Conference meet Saturday

The Austin Packers gymnastics team traveled to Rochester Century High School Saturday for the Big 9 Conference meet, and the Packers tallied a team-high score for the season of 132.725 to claim 5th place.

Mankato West took first in the team competition with a total of 143.425, followed by Owatonna in second with 143.400, then came Northfield in third at 136.850, Winona finished fourth with a score of 136.400, followed by Austin, and the Packers were followed by Mankato East, Rochester Mayo, Rochester Century, Red Wing, Faribault and Rochester John Marshall.

Katelynn Klouse earned All-Conference honors for Austin, while Kiki Rodriguez was named an All-Conference Honorable Mention selection.  Klouse finished in 12th in the all-around for the Packers with a score of 33.95, and Hannah Fritz was 14th with a final score of 33.30.  Fritz was the top finisher for Austin on the vault, as she was 15th with a score of 9.0, Klouse took fourth on the balance beam for the Packers with a score of 8.55 and Rodriguez had the top score for Austin on the floor exercise with a final tally of 9.45, which was good for ninth place.

The Packers return to action on Saturday as they travel to the Section 1A gymnastics meet, with the action scheduled to start at Winona High School at 11:00 a.m. that morning.