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Dec. 5—JAMESTOWN — Jamestown High School head gymnastics coach Bre Carlson is under no delusions.
"It would be great if we could get second at State this year," Carlson said. "It would obviously be great to win a state title but we know Dickinson is kind of a powerhouse. Their team is actually really big this year and I think five of their kids are at a level nine skill level so they will be pretty dominant again."
While the Mavericks might prove to be unbeatable, the Blue Jays are expected to be Dickinson's toughest competition in the state — even with only eight girls on the roster.
"It's a little bit of a smaller team than the last few years but I am not too worried about it," Carlson said. "Most of the girls have been coming in throughout the summer and the fall which has been super helpful."
Among the Jays' eight competing gymnasts are seniors Sutton Van Gilder, Aubrey Krapp, Hayden Olson and McKenna Pettys.
"Our fans can expect a solid group," Van Gilder said. "We have determined girls on our team and I think after we get our first meet jitters out, we are going to do well. Obviously it will be different this year without Julia (Skari), as she was one of our top scorers, but we have had multiple people step it up this past summer."
Carlson said she expects Van Gilder, a two-time, all-stater, to be even more impressive than she has been the past two seasons. The senior said in the past six months, she has been working on some new upgrades and perfecting the skills she has already showcased.
"Sutton and Aubrey have really put in the work this fall to try and fill Julia and Lydia (Stoterau's) shoes," Carlson said. "They are pretty much ready to go for the most part — of course building the endurance will take some time but I think they will be OK."
Skari was the all-around runner-up at the 2025 NDHSAA State Gymnastics Meet. The Class of 2025 grad competed for the Jays from 2019 to 2025. She qualfied for State in the all-around and all four events all six years of her prep career. She was also named an all-stater every year.
Carlson's first look at what her team can do without Skari and Stoterau — and senior Mia Kaiser who underwent foot surgery this summer — came on Thursday at Aberdeen Central.
"We won our first meet today in Aberdeen," Carlson said in an interview following the meet. "The girls actually surprised themselves with how high their team score was. They actually surprised me too — in a good way of course.
"Based on what went on in practice this week and how warm ups went at the meet, it seemed that we were going to be in for a rough meet," she said. "The girls dug deep and pulled it together at the right time today."
Official scores were unavailable when The Jamestown Sun went to press.
Prior to Thursday's meet, Carlson said the Jays are expecting to be strong in floor again this season, a prediction that held true at Aberdeen as the team took three of the top five places.
The head coach also mentioned the Jays could do some damage at vault. At the individual portion of the 2025 state meet, Davis placed fifth on vault with a 9.367 while Van Gilder got seventh with a 9.300.
"Yesterday at practice we had five kids flipping vaults to their feet," Carlson said. "That's more than normal."
The Jays competed in vault in the second rotation on Thursday. Carlson said it can be tricky to have the heavy running events back to back but added that it didn't seem to phase the team. The Jays took three of the top five places.
Bars and beam went even better.
"We had a pretty rocky road on bars so far this season and there were lots of nerves going into it (but) apparently being a little anxious was the trick as Jamestown swept the top four places," Carlson said. "We had one of the best beam rotations we've ever had in Aberdeen. We typically see a lot of falls and a lot of missed connections at the first meet if the year but a lot of these girls seemed to pick up right where they left off last season. We were able to snag four out of the five placements there too."
Aside from three JHS seniors who placed in the top-five of the all-around on Thursday, Carlson mentioned that Baynx Kirschenmann and Keira Andersen will be a pair of strong competitors to keep an eye on this year.
Jamestown's next contest is scheduled for Dec. 11 at Bismarck Gymnastics Academy.
"I think the win today is just what we needed to get good energy going at practice next week before we head to Bismarck to compete against every other team in the state on Thursday," Carlson said. "This team may be a lot smaller than we are used to but they are ready to show they are just as capable as any other team we have had."
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"It would be great if we could get second at State this year," Carlson said. "It would obviously be great to win a state title but we know Dickinson is kind of a powerhouse. Their team is actually really big this year and I think five of their kids are at a level nine skill level so they will be pretty dominant again."
While the Mavericks might prove to be unbeatable, the Blue Jays are expected to be Dickinson's toughest competition in the state — even with only eight girls on the roster.
"It's a little bit of a smaller team than the last few years but I am not too worried about it," Carlson said. "Most of the girls have been coming in throughout the summer and the fall which has been super helpful."
Among the Jays' eight competing gymnasts are seniors Sutton Van Gilder, Aubrey Krapp, Hayden Olson and McKenna Pettys.
"Our fans can expect a solid group," Van Gilder said. "We have determined girls on our team and I think after we get our first meet jitters out, we are going to do well. Obviously it will be different this year without Julia (Skari), as she was one of our top scorers, but we have had multiple people step it up this past summer."
Carlson said she expects Van Gilder, a two-time, all-stater, to be even more impressive than she has been the past two seasons. The senior said in the past six months, she has been working on some new upgrades and perfecting the skills she has already showcased.
"Sutton and Aubrey have really put in the work this fall to try and fill Julia and Lydia (Stoterau's) shoes," Carlson said. "They are pretty much ready to go for the most part — of course building the endurance will take some time but I think they will be OK."
Skari was the all-around runner-up at the 2025 NDHSAA State Gymnastics Meet. The Class of 2025 grad competed for the Jays from 2019 to 2025. She qualfied for State in the all-around and all four events all six years of her prep career. She was also named an all-stater every year.
Carlson's first look at what her team can do without Skari and Stoterau — and senior Mia Kaiser who underwent foot surgery this summer — came on Thursday at Aberdeen Central.
"We won our first meet today in Aberdeen," Carlson said in an interview following the meet. "The girls actually surprised themselves with how high their team score was. They actually surprised me too — in a good way of course.
"Based on what went on in practice this week and how warm ups went at the meet, it seemed that we were going to be in for a rough meet," she said. "The girls dug deep and pulled it together at the right time today."
Official scores were unavailable when The Jamestown Sun went to press.
Prior to Thursday's meet, Carlson said the Jays are expecting to be strong in floor again this season, a prediction that held true at Aberdeen as the team took three of the top five places.
The head coach also mentioned the Jays could do some damage at vault. At the individual portion of the 2025 state meet, Davis placed fifth on vault with a 9.367 while Van Gilder got seventh with a 9.300.
"Yesterday at practice we had five kids flipping vaults to their feet," Carlson said. "That's more than normal."
The Jays competed in vault in the second rotation on Thursday. Carlson said it can be tricky to have the heavy running events back to back but added that it didn't seem to phase the team. The Jays took three of the top five places.
Bars and beam went even better.
"We had a pretty rocky road on bars so far this season and there were lots of nerves going into it (but) apparently being a little anxious was the trick as Jamestown swept the top four places," Carlson said. "We had one of the best beam rotations we've ever had in Aberdeen. We typically see a lot of falls and a lot of missed connections at the first meet if the year but a lot of these girls seemed to pick up right where they left off last season. We were able to snag four out of the five placements there too."
Aside from three JHS seniors who placed in the top-five of the all-around on Thursday, Carlson mentioned that Baynx Kirschenmann and Keira Andersen will be a pair of strong competitors to keep an eye on this year.
Jamestown's next contest is scheduled for Dec. 11 at Bismarck Gymnastics Academy.
"I think the win today is just what we needed to get good energy going at practice next week before we head to Bismarck to compete against every other team in the state on Thursday," Carlson said. "This team may be a lot smaller than we are used to but they are ready to show they are just as capable as any other team we have had."
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