Gymnasts Sweep Milton/Edgerton on Senior Night

Baraboo delivered a strong night of gymnastics on Senior Night in a conference dual against Milton Co-Op on Thursday at Baraboo High School, sweeping both the varsity and junior varsity meets. Seniors Lacey Bender, Julia Laux, and Grace Atwater were recognized by the program with speeches from their peers to celebrate their gymnastics careers. The Thunderbirds won the varsity dual 128.675–119.375 behind an all-around title from Zeva Valley, then completed the sweep with an 85.900–51.150 victory in the JV competition.

Valley set the tone for the varsity lineup, capturing the all-around with a 34.550 and posting the top score on all four events. She led the way on beam with an 8.975, added an 8.700 on vault, an 8.525 on floor and an 8.350 on bars as Baraboo outscored Milton Co-Op on every apparatus.

Baraboo’s varsity advantage started on vault, where the Thunderbirds totaled 34.100 to Milton’s 32.750, helped by Valley’s 8.700, Julia Laux's 8.600, and Jaiden Bristow's 8.550, which proved to be the top 3 scores of the night on vault. On bars, Baraboo extended the margin with a 30.375 team total, compared with Milton’s 25.200, as Valley’s 8.350 anchored the lineup. The Thunderbirds stayed steady on beam, scoring 31.875 behind Valley’s meet-best 8.975 and Hadley Porter's 8.350, while Milton finished with 29.600.

On floor, Baraboo closed out the varsity win with a 32.325 total, edging Milton’s 31.825 to push the final margin past nine points. Baraboo’s ability to post four complete team events, with Valley at the front of each rotation, proved decisive in the overall 128.675–119.375 result.

In the JV meet, Baraboo again controlled the action, finishing with an 85.900 team total to Milton’s 51.150. The Thunderbirds were especially strong on beam and bars, scoring 29.000 and 24.100, respectively, while Milton posted 13.650 on beam and 22.900 on bars. Baraboo also held a slim edge on vault, 14.800–14.600, before pulling away in the all-around standings.

Baraboo’s Emily Kierzek claimed the JV all-around title with a 27.600. Baraboo rounded out the JV effort with standout event winners Lacey Bender, who turned in the top beam routine at 8.500, and Taytum Poker, who led the way on bars with a 6.300. Together with the varsity’s clean four-event performance and Valley’s sweep of the individual event titles, the Thunderbirds used the conference dual to showcase both their experience at the top of the lineup and the depth developing in the JV ranks as the postseason approaches.