Gymnasts Record Season’s Best Score

Lowell's Gymnastics team during the Coldwater meet on Saturday. Photo from Head Coach Michele DeHaan and assistant Coach Paige DeHaan.

Lowell placed fourth at Coldwater’s annual Stick It For a Cure Meet

Justin Scott - Sports Reporter

9 Feb. 2025

It’s looking like the Lowell Gymnastics team is hitting their stride heading into the postseason. The girls scored their highest team score of the season on Saturday in Coldwater. It was the Cardinals’ 15th annual Stick It For a Cure gymnastics invitational, with teams coming from as far away as Escanaba and Bark River. Money raised during the event goes towards those in the Coldwater community who are currently undergoing cancer treatments.

After injuries and being stuck in the 126’s for a few weeks, the girls have climbed seven points, a significant amount in the gymnastics world, over the past few weeks.

Lowell’s beam queens, awarded to those who stuck their balance beam routines, were awarded to Kamryn Lackscheide, Julia Meier, and Claire Weeks. Meier’s 8.5 was a top ten score for the tournament on beam which was good enough for eighth place. Lackscheide finished second on the team with an 8.15 and Weeks along with Olivia Lothian each scored a 7.85.

Lothian paced Lowell’s best apparatus, floor, where she was floor champion with a 9.325. Meier wasn’t far behind, finishing in third with a 9.15. Jordan Velzen added an 8.675 while Rylee Kyes had an 8.55.

There were two Lowell placers on vault, Velzen and Brynne Schmuker each with an 8.2 while Meier placed 9th with an 8.6, and Lothian placed 4th with an 8.8. 

Each apparatus in gymnastics presents its own set of challenges. For floor, endurance, showmanship, and acrobatic skills. Beam, concentration and the ability to balance. Not to mention, mounts, dismounts, remembering your routine, and of course, execution. The dismount and sticking the landing on the vault. For the uneven bars, the upper body strength to transition from bar to bar. It’s a sport that requires excellence not just physically, but mentally too. Even Simone Biles, widely regarded as the best gymnast of all time, isn’t immune to failure in the sport. She famously withdrew from the bulk of the Tokyo Olympics because of the twisties", which is when gymnasts lose their sense of where they are in the air and how they'll land. She bounced back to win three gold medals and a silver medal in Paris in 2024.

On bars, Lothian finished in 2nd with an 8.45, while Meier placed 5th with an 8.275. Meier placed in three apparatuses at last year’s state finals, 8th on vault, 5th on bars, and 5th on beam. Lothian is just a sophomore this year and competed in vault and bars at the state competition last year. Both placed 2nd (Meier) and 3rd (Lothian) respectively in the all-around.

The Red Arrows finished in fourth at Coldwater overall, behind champions Plymouth, Jackson, and Livonia. Beating out eight other A teams in the 17-team competition. 

Their performance built off a 132.825 earlier in the week at home against Rockford. Lowell fell to the Rams 132.825-140.45. Team leaders were Lothian on vault (8.8), Lothian on bars (8.6), Meier on beam (7.975), and Meier on floor (8.95). Beam queens were Lacksheide, Ali Kyes, and Weeks. The higher scores are a boost to Lowell, who are looking to return to team state this year after a 10th place finish last year.

Lowell has a home competition, senior night, on Monday at Runciman. They also have the conference championship meet at Kenowa Hills on Wednesday.

Olivia Lothian and Julia Meier finished top three on Saturday. Photo from Head Coach Michele DeHaan and assistant Coach Paige DeHaan