February 29, 2024
It was a whirlwind week for MPA’s Delaney Cunnington ’25. After qualifying for the Class AA State Gymnastics Tournament as an individual and also helping the Cretin/MPA/Minnehaha Gymnastics team to a team state berth, the state took notice.
Rightfully so, as Delaney became the 27th individual state champion in MPA history, winning the Class AA individual title on the uneven bars via her score of 9.727 at Roy Wilkins Auditorium.
“I’ve put in a lot of time and a lot of effort, so it’s really fun to see it pay off and feel accomplished about it,” Delaney said.
Before getting to that point, Delaney, the Cretin/MPA/Minnehaha team, and her mother, Carrie, took center stage as the Star Tribune featured all three. Carrie was highlighted for her contribution to the team’s coaching staff. When faced with a lack of coaches, Carrie recruited former Gophers gymnast Jonda Hughes and a former Level 10 club gymnast Anja Mundahl to help fill out the Cretin/MPA/Minnehaha coaching roster.
Delaney did her part to earn the feature, helping recruit a former teammate to join the team previously before helping secure the individual and team state berths. Delaney won the Section 7AA meet’s around title with a career-high 38.2. She also won on the bar, beam, and floor routine during the section meet.
The attention brought some pressure to the gymnastics co-op, with the team preparing for the upcoming state meet. “That pressure shifted into motivation,” Delaney said.
“Our team has just done so well throughout the season that we knew what to do, and we knew how to do it.”
Their effort turned into energy, and the team came out and claimed a runner-up position during the Class AA team meet on Friday, February 23, further setting up the stage for Delaney on Saturday, February 24. Like she had done all season, she went out there, knowing what to do, securing her state title. She nearly added another title, claiming second with her floor routine that netted her a score of 9.575. Delaney also placed third in the state all-around competition with her 37.90.
Excited to become the state champ, along with her team’s runner-up placement, Delaney believes next season will be another banner year.
“We have seven juniors, we are losing only two seniors, so we are going to be good again next year, too,” Delaney said.
We are so proud of Delaney and will watch for her again next season! Go Panthers!
