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Mahtomedi's Bella Frattalone hangs on for another all-around title

By JIM PAULSEN, 02/22/20, 10:53PM CST

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Unlike last year's championship in Class 1A, this one came in Class 2A and in her final competition.


Bella Frattalone of Mahtomedi, center, who won the Class 2A individual all-around title, stood with other top-place finishers Saturday at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul. Photo: Jack Rodgers, special to the Star Tribune

There was more than a little drama playing out in the final stages of the Class 2A individual state gymnastics meet.

Pre-meet favorite Bella Frattalone of Mahtomedi, the 2019 Class 1A all-around champion, had just vaulted, literally, into the lead in the chase for the all-around title after scoring a 9.775.

But the lead wasn’t secure. While Frattalone had posted a strong 38.575, Park Center junior Annika Lee was in striking distance and had yet to do her routine on the uneven bars.

Lee had a strong bars routine — but not quite strong enough. Her 9.55 fell just short, giving Frattalone her second state title in a row. With it, she became only the second gymnast in state history to win an all-around championship in both classes.

Rogers’ Sabrina Hoover won the Class 1A all-around in 2009 and 2A in 2010 and ’11.

Lee’s bars routine was the last of the meet, adding to the tension. If she scored a 9.625 or better, the title is hers. Thanks to the Minnesota State High School League's adoption of live scoring, nearly everyone in Roy Wilkins Auditorium knew what was at stake.

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