By John RittenhouseLuverne’s Callen Bosshart battled illness and 33 competitors at the Minnesota State Class A Gymnastics Championships staged at the RiverCentre in St. Paul Saturday.Bosshart, who became the first Cardinal to qualify for the state meet since 1990 during the Section 3A event one week earlier, had the deck stacked against her entering the competition.A battle with strep throat kept the LHS senior from practicing the entire week heading into the state vaulting competition Saturday morning.Bosshart did make the trip to St. Paul, and she completed her required two vaults. When the final scores were tallied, Bosshart placed 31st in the field with an 8.625 effort."Callen didn’t get to practice all week, and I think it did (influence her performance)," said Cardinal coach Phoebe Flom. "She didn’t have a terrible meet, but it wasn’t her best vaulting day. Since she is a senior, it was just nice for her to be there."Melrose’s Katie Niehaus won the state championship in the vault with a score of 9.7.Section 3A champion Jessica Dolan, of Marshall, placed 15th with a 9.125. Martin County West’s Sabrina Steen (25th with an 8.825) and Windom’s Mary Hartberg (30th with an 8.6625) also represented Section 3A at the event.
