Athlete-wise, I have a great group of kids who are having a lot of fun and are very respectful of the MVC. What is happening with this (possible dissolution of the MVC), it comes down to politics.

She (Courtney) started with a press handstand, and had a very solid routine. I expected her score to be higher. They are scoring extremely tough and I am not prepared for that. We're used to getting the 9.0s.

We haven't peaked yet. They (Holmen) have more depth than we do, but you only need four scores. We have scored a 141.25 this year, so these kids are certainly capable.

I told them we couldn't do anything about it. They did the best they can. We knew after the beam we had to take a little time to step back and take a deep breath. We knew to win this meet would be hard. Was it possible? Hell yes.

There are two meets that count (sectional and state), and this isn't one of them. Sure this is a confidence builder, but you want to beat the champions at the championship meet.

Amber has really turned into a leader for us this season. She has really taken it up a notch this year. They really push each other, and both are really clean gymnasts. It's hard for the judges to take anything away from them.