Double gold is Top Story from 2022
The year 2021 started off a little late due to COVID-19, but once it got started, there was a lot of success for Benson and KMS student-athletes.
Benson, KMS, or Benson-KMS advanced athletes to the state level in wrestling, gymnastics, boys tennis, boys golf, girls golf, cross-country, and girls tennis, with two of the athletes coming home with gold medals.
Yes, Thomas Dineen and Libby McGeary earned state gold medals last year and without a doubt, that was selected as the top high school sports story of 2021.
#1 -- Double gold -- The winter postseason of 2021 was doubly good for area sports fans as Thomas Dineen and Libby McGeary both earned state gold medals at the conclusion of the 2020-21 winter season.
The fact that they both won gold medals is impressive, but the fact that both were sophomores when they did it is even more amazing.
McGeary became the first athlete to win a state gold gymnastics medal for Benson or Benson-KMS, winning the state Class A balance beam title.
McGeary helped the Fighting Braves to a 4-2 overall record and a 138.4 score late in the season, which is one of the top 10 gymnastics team scores in school history.
At the Section 6A meet, she won the all-around with a score of 36.625 and then went on to score 36.15 at state to place 13th overall. Her all-around score included a 9.6 on the beam, which not only broke the old school record, but also gave her the gold medal at the state meet.
McGeary also broke the school all-around record during the regular-season with a 37.375 score against Annandale, and she shares the floor exercise record of 9.7 with Sara Wilcox.
• Dineen meanwhile, went 38-0 overall last year to win the Section 5A-6A title and the Class A 195-pound state title.
Dineen also earned his 100th career victory last year in helping Benson to a 16-15 overall record, only the second winning season for the program in the last 12 years.
Dineen ended the year with 107 career victories and has opened up this year with an 11-0 record, giving him 118 career wins, which ranks him eighth on the all-time Benson wins’ list.
Jared Knutson is second on the list with 138 victories, while Ryan Thompson graduated with 170 career victories. Ryan Thompson earned state gold wrestling medals in 2009 and 2010, while current head coach Scott Thompson earned the program’s first gold medal in 2005.
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