JACKSON — The Austin gymnastics team won the Class ‘A’ ‘true team’ state meet for the first time in school history when they led the 10-team field with a team score of 178.900 at Jackson County Central Saturday.

New Prague took second with a score of 177.675.

The meet counted all five scores for each team instead of counting just the top five and Austin head coach Mark Raymond said that was in the Packers’ favor.

“Your depth shows and that’s an advantage for us,” Raymond said. “Our fifth gymnasts sometimes put up a better score than other teams’ third gymnasts.”

The Packers competed against the top 10 teams in Class ‘A’, including New Prague, and Melrose, which won the Class ‘A’ title last season and beat Austin in a meet earlier this season.

“It’s a great opportunity to get in the gym with some real good teams,” Raymond said. “It builds confidence for us and the girls can see they really belong on the top of the podium. It’s a pretty big deal.”