Swedzinski part of state championship gym team

After her stellar performance playing Dorothy in Minneota's fall musical "The Wizard of Oz", eighth-grader Winifred Swedzinki clicked her heels and was a member of a state championship team in gymnastics this past weekend.
Swedzinski, the daughter of Chris and Jessica Swedzinski of rural Ghent, is a member of the Estelline (SD)-Hendricks Redhawks gymnastics team that placed first in the Class A South Dakota High School Athletics Association State Meet this past weekend in Aberdeen.
It was the first state title for the Redhawks, who ended a string of 29 straight years of either Madison or Deuel winning the Class A crown. The Redhawks amassed 138.917 points to 137.117 for runner-up Chamberlain. Madison and Hot Springs tied for third and Deuel finished fifth.
"We were ranked number two this year, so we knew we had a good chance of winning,: Swedzinski said.
Swedzinski also qualified for the state meet in two individual events, balance beam and vault. She finished 19th on balance beam out of 40 competitors with a personal-best score of 8.117, and placed 26th on vault with an 8.6 (her personal-best is 8.75).“There are a lot of good gymnasts in the state and it was an honor just to compete against them,” said Swedzinski.
Sadie Johnson of Estelline-Hendricks won the Class A all-around title with a 367.350. She finished first in floor exercise and vault, second on bars, and fourth on beam.
The meet was held at Aberdeen Central High School.
Swedzinski is one of two home-schooled students on the team.
The personable 14-year-old first started gaining interest in gymnastics when she was five years old by attending camps. Eventually, she joined the Redhawks’ high school team.
“This is my second year competing with the team,” she said. “I really enjoy it.”
The team practiced five days a week this year in a barn filled with gymnastics equipment in Hendricks, which is 30 miles from the Swedzinski farm and 30 miles from Estelline.
The two school districts have a total population of around 1,400 combined, but they showed up big for the state tournament.
“It was an absolutely amazing time,” Swedzinski said.