The Minnesota Team was split into two this past weekend, heading to Philadelphia to compete in the Fred Turoff Invitational at Temple University and Lafayette, CO to compete in the Xtreme Altitude Invitational.

The team that headed east did battle with the 2025 National Champions Arizona State, the host team Temple Owls, the Hyenas from Indy-Hio, the New York Alliance, and a group from the Mid Atlantic Rockets out of Virginia. The team out West in Colorado had a dual meet vs. the Rocky Mountain Mavericks.

Both meets had great performances by the boys from Minnesota and these opportunities continue to give a chance to get everyone a chance to compete during the regular season meets.

Shout out to Gopher Junior Luke Pedersen who is the team’s Travel Coordinator. With flights and hotels and rental cars to secure, Luke had a lot of moving parts and the two trips came and went without a hitch!! Well done Luke!!

The final results from both meets looked like this:

FRED TUROFF INVITATIONAL

1.     Arizona State             312.20

2.     Minnesota                 306.85

3.     Temple                       295.70

4.     Indy-hio                     292.50

5.     NYA                            264.25

6.     MA Rockets             241.45

XTREME ALTITUDE INVITATIONAL

1.     Minnesota                  282.30

2.     Rocky Mountain        280.30

Both meets had some awesome highlights. The east coast team put up the highest score of the season in a hard-fought battle with ASU. The score of 306.85 was a full 7 points higher than the previous weeks’ competition and with an 87% hit percentage, our team is moving in the right direction!

The western contingent had a real battle on their hands and leaned into their efforts and came out victorious in a meet that could have gone either way going into the last event. Minnesota stayed strong and came home with another victory.

In the Temple Meet, Minnesota gymnasts swept the top four All Around spots with Junior Ben Letvin taking top honors with a season high score of 75.25. Freshman Peter Davis-Ross was a close 2nd with a personal best of 75.05. Sophomore Leo Feuer had the best meet of his young career, hitting 6 for 6 and finishing 3rd with a personal best of 73.10. Junior Joey Pennell took home the 4th spot with a season high score of 72.90.

It was a great showing in the All Around and Senior Co-Captain Owen Frank was able to add another event title to his trophy case with a score of 13.45 on Still Rings. Peter Davis-Ross also took home top honors on Parallel Bars with a score of 12.65! Congratulations to these award winners.

In the Colorado Meet, Junior Paul Acker took home the All Around title with a score of 68.75. Junior Aaron Novick won gold on Floor Exercise with a score of 12.60, and Senior Co-Captain Brandon Kim took home the event title on Still Rings with a season high score of 12.55. Sophomore Warren Strootman took home the title on High Bar with a stellar score of 12.60. Congratulations for a job well done this past weekend!

GOPHER’S NEXT MEET IS THE MN GymACT INVITATIONAL AT HUMBOLDT HIGH SCHOOL

Minnesota will be in action again this Saturday, February 14th, at the 10th Annual MN GymACT Invitational. Action will get underway at 6:20 pm at Humboldt High School, located at 30 E Baker St, St Paul, MN 55107. Admission will be $15 for adults and $5 for children under 10 and Seniors over 55. College Students will be admitted free with their college ID.

The competition will get underway at 6:20 pm and Minnesota will once again be fielding two full teams on the floor as they take on the University of Iowa GymACT Team, alongside Northern Illinois University and the Kansas City Twisters.

FOUNDATION GYMNASTICS CONTINUES INCREASING ENROLLMENT

Our Preschool and Rec Programs are slowly but surely seeing more and more kids in the local vicinity signing up for classes. It’s been gaining some traction and all the kids who are currently enrolled are having a great time in class and learning the basics of gymnastics from members of the team who are part of the coaching staff. Thanks to all who are making Foundation Gymnastics a destination for kids in St. Paul. Information on our program can be found on the Foundation Gymnastics website: www.foundationgym.org.

STICK THE DISMOUNT FUNDRAISER

The annual Stick the Dismount campaign was launched last month. This campaign has gone on for almost 20 years, bringing in thousands of dollars for the Minnesota Men’s Gymnastics Program.

The way it works is participants can pledge a dollar amount per Stuck Dismount through the year. Last year we had a total of 103 stuck dismounts so that’s a number you can use to gauge your potential pledge. So, if you pledged $2 per stick and we stick 103 dismounts again, you’d be donating $206 at the end of the season.

Here’s a link to the STUCK DISMOUNT PLEDGE GOOGLE FORM:

https://STICK THE DISMOUNT CAMPAIGN

You can cap your pledge or make a one-time donation on behalf of the Stick The Dismount campaign. This is a great way to follow the team throughout the season and provide support based on their level of success.

We had 15 Stuck Dismounts at the Maroon & Gold Meet so we’re on the move and we saw a nice number of sticks in that meet. Hopefully the team will continue to fight for those landings and continue to bring in funding for the program.

Donations to the program are always greatly appreciated and can be made through our website: www.minnesotagymnastics.org.