For the Monticello girls gymnastics team, this year’s Class 2A team tournament was about more than simply winning a state title. It was about doing more than anyone, except themselves, expected.

On Friday, Monticello, which last year competed against the state’s smallest schools in Class 1A, won the big-school team title with a score of 148.725.

Owatonna, the 2025 champs, fought off injuries all season and finished second

Last year, the Magic placed second in the team competition to Class 1A champion Detroit Lakes. Beating the Lakers was the original goal, until the MSHSL hurled a curveball late last summer.

Monticello was being moved up to Class 2A based on student enrollment.

Competing against the bigger schools wasn’t supposed to be part of the equation.

“At that time, we were so intimidated,” Monticello senior Lauren Hansen said. “Those schools are so big. We just couldn’t believe that we got moved up.”

Surprised? Sure. Perhaps even shocked. But never intimidated. The Monticello gymnasts knew they were good. Now it was time to prove it.

“We learned last summer that we were moving up,” said Hansen, the Magic’s top all-arounder. “We just worked way harder because we knew that we had to match the skills that were in 2A. We stuck to it and motivated each other throughout the summer.”

As the season progressed and Monticello piled up successes, the Magic turned their initial frustration at the move to belief they could do something special.

“They came in last summer and they’re like, ‘you know what? Double A, no problem. We got this,’ ” coach Lisa Moran said. “And that’s what they’ve done. And now a state championship.”

Few personify Monticello’s can-do attitude more than senior Alisha Grue. A longtime varsity gymnast, she took her junior year off because of stress fractures in both shins.

Her time away just made her realize how much she missed the mat.

“I started coaching and I was like, ‘man, I like really miss this sport,’ ” Grue said. “I feel like I have more to do.”

Grue admitted she got a little rusty after a year away from gymnastics, but she believed in herself and her teammates lifted her up. She competed in all four events for the Magic, proving to be a vital piece to the puzzle.

“Getting my skills back after taking year off gymnastics is really hard,” Grue said. “They were the most supportive girls ever. They allowed me to progress throughout the season. I knew we could do some really cool things together.”