The CDH gymnastics team, working with Mounds Park Academy and Minnehaha Academy, have made some major improvements this season. This year, the team has been amazing. They got their highest score ever, 143.5, and won first place at the Two Rivers High School invite, improving from their previous top score of 131.9.
A big part of the team’s success is because of some of their seniors. Senior Kana Try from Minnehaha Academy competes in many events, but her specialty is on the beam, scoring 9.425. Her best total score this year is 35.25. Leah Iverson ‘24 from CDH is a team leader. She excels on the bars, with a best score of 7.225. She also does beam and vault. Anna Lentz ‘25 from CDH is on beam and bars, with top scores of 9.375 and 9.2. Her best total score is 35.975. Ava Bartsh ‘25 from CDH, another team leader, competes in floor, beam, and vault. Her best scores are 8.275, 8.075, and 8.25. Junior Delaney Cunnington from Mounds Park Academy is outstanding at bars and floor, with top scores of 9.625 and 9.65. Her best overall score is 37.8. Junior Leah DiNardo from Minnehaha Academy is especially good at vault and floor, with her best scores being 9.4 and 9.3. Her total best is 36.25.
The team won almost all their meets this year, except for their season debut. They have more competitions coming up and will go to the state competition for the first time since 2010. Head Coach Claire Gutknecht is really proud of the team. She says, “I am mind blown by this team every single week—they work hard, and they keep getting better at every meet… They are amazing young women, and it’s an honor to coach them during this special season!” This team is really showing their skills and hard work, and they’re changing the story of CDH gymnastics.
The Raiders are led by Gutknecht, who says “Our team always has really great positive energy, and I think it’s only going to be amplified given how big of a deal qualifying for this meet is. The energy at Roy Wilkins is going to be off the charts and I can’t wait to watch the Raiders contribute to that energy.” She says the highlight of the season came outside of meets: “I think a general highlight throughout the whole season has been practices, because it has been an opportunity for the girls to bond with each other, and that bond has laid the foundation for them to be as successful as they are as a team. They truly genuinely care very deeply about each other as humans, not just as team mates. It’s their connection with each other that allows them to constantly encourage each other even when people are having tough days, and it’s that resiliency that makes them as successful as they are as a team.” Going into the tournament, Gutknecht says that the team's biggest strength is their attitudes, stating “They care deeply about the sport, but they care more about having fun and encouraging each other. That prioritization of values enables them to enter meets without having this crazy amount of pressure on themselves, because they know that no matter what—win or lose, fal\il to stick—no one is going to feel differently about them after the meet.”
Coach Gutknecht wants readers to know these two points: “first it’s important to know that this has been an absolutely historic season for the Raiders, and it wouldn’t be possible without the athletes from CDH, Mounds Park Academy, and Minnehaha Academy. Second, is that it has been absolutely jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, and pride-filling to coach these athletes this season (and every season). They’ve made it the easiest job because of the joy they bring to every practice and meet, and because of the culture that they have cultivated. As a coaching staff, we mean it when we say that the Raiders have already won the season, regardless of what happens this weekend, because of the work they’ve put in. Going to state is just the bow on top of a perfect year. Go Lady Raiders!”
CDH will compete in the gymnastics state tournament on Friday, February 23.