After placing second out of seven teams on Jan. 8, coach Dawn Thielen said she was proud of the team’s performance considering the adversity they faced coming into the event.

“This was a rough meet for us heading into the event,” Thielen said. “We went in with an injury to one of our varsity girls, three girls out on COVID or sick who would have been alternates.”

Freshman Anna Williams said despite the setbacks due to COVID-19, she felt the team was ready to perform their routines.

“As a team we went into it really prepared as we had a lot of time to rehearse and practice our routines,” Williams said.

Thielen said she was thrilled with the results of the meet, as the team placed well individually and as a team.

“We had many girls place in the top 10 on multiple events, and we got second place in our division,” Thielen said.

Junior Sophia Earle said the team had a great meet, but there’s still room to improve.

“For future meets we can just work on our skills and make sure we are confident in doing our skills,” Earle said.

According to Thielen, the attitude demonstrated by the gymnasts makes her optimistic for the rest of the season.

“Their positivity, work ethic, persistence and desire to learn and improve creates a great atmosphere to work in,” Thielen said.

Park will face Bloomington Jefferson at 6 p.m. Jan. 11 at Bloomington Jefferson High School.