Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Emily Guggisberg (left) and Kayla Goblirsch (right) will represent the New Ulm gymnastics team at the 2020 Girls’ Gymnastics State Meet this Saturday. Guggisberg qualified for the state meet on beam, while Goblirsch qualified for all-around.

NEW ULM — The New Ulm gymnastics team will send a pair of sophomores in Kayla Goblirsch and Emily Guggisberg to the 2020 Girls’ Gymnastics State Meet this Saturday at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul.

Both gymnasts will be competing in the Class A individual portion of the meet at 11 a.m. on Saturday, with Goblirsch qualifying for all-around and Guggisberg qualifying on beam. This will be Goblirsch’s second appearance at state after making it last year, while Guggisberg will be making her first appearance.

This season, Goblirsch is averaging an all-around score of 36.2. She is also averaging a 9.3 on vault, an 8.6 on bars, a 9.2 on beam and a 9.2 on floor.

Her top scores from this season are a 37.3 in all-around, a 9.575 on vault, a 9 on bars, a 9.575 on beam and a 9.4 on floor.

Last year, Goblirsch finished 9th overall at state in the all-around competition with a 36.75. She finished with a 9.275 on vault, an 8.625 on bars, a 9.4 on the beam and a 9.35 on floor.

“Last year I was a little bit more nervous because I had no idea what to expect and it’s such a big meet,” Goblirsch said. “This year I feel a little bit more confident because I know what to expect and it’ll help to have Emily there with me. My teammates are coming, too, so that’ll be nice.”

New Ulm head coach Kortney Peterson said that Goblirsch’s consistency all season has been key.

“Kayla has been a very consistent gymnast on all events this year,” Peterson said. “She is calm and poised when competing and will hope to improve on her state finishes from last year.”

Goblirsch added that while she’s more confident this year, she’s just looking to showcase her routines to the best of her ability and have a good time.

“It would be really cool to medal, but I just want to do my best routines of the year and just have fun,” she said.

As for Guggisberg, she is averaging a score of 8.2 on the beam this season. Her top beam score this season is a 9.025, and she qualified for state with a score of 8.775 at the section meet last week.

Guggisberg said that she is excited about her first state appearance as she wasn’t expecting it.

“I was really excited because I was not expecting to make it,” Guggisberg said. “And to be able to be with Kayla is awesome, too.”

Peterson said that Guggisberg has increased her confidence and skills on the beam this year, something Guggisberg agreed with.

“I’ve just been working really hard to just be confident in my routine,” Guggisberg said. “And I just keep practicing every day to make sure I can meet all the skills.”

Both sophomores will have their eyes on finishing as close to the top as they can on Saturday, but they’re mostly just excited to spend time with their teammates and showcase what they’ve worked for all season. The young duo will be carpooling up to St. Paul for the meet with the rest of their team.

“We have the best teammates,” Goblirsch said. “They’re so supportive and it’s so awesome that they come up to watch, and they make the season so much more enjoyable.”