FORT PIERRE - The Hot Springs gymnastics team opened an early Christmas present by scoring a 128.75 to win the Stanley County Central meet Saturday at Parkview Gym.

"Our goal was to score 124 so this really raises the bar for us," Lady Bison coach Dana Nachtigall said. "We had a few falls on beam but those are fixable. Our bars are what saved us which is usually our weakest event."

Skye Lindquist of Kadoka was the all-around champion as she scored a 34.85. But the Lady Bison provided the next three finishers in Carla Weiss, Bridgett Hill and Lindsey Runyon. Weiss won the floor with a 9.35 score. Lindquist was the top individual on the beam, bars and vault.

Hot Springs was without senior Kelly Sullivan, who tore knee ligaments in the first meet of the year. "She was one of our top all-arounders so this was a good place to be," Nachtigall said.

This was the final action of 2007 for Hot Springs. They will return to Parkview Gym for the Stanley County Invitational on Jan. 5.

Host Stanley County also enjoyed a stellar day as they finished second with a score of 123.3 points.

"This was our highest score in the past two two years," Lady Buffs coach Jodi Gabriel said. "I was very proud of our girls."

Sarah Jeffries paced the Lady Buffs in the all-around, taking fifth with a score of 31.6. Eighth-grader Shelby Gienger and seventh-grader Lexi Lopour also had all-around scores above the 30-point mark, which helps in qualification for state.

Stanley County is off until after Christmas.