December 1, 2017 at 1:17 p.m.
Team preview: RHS gymnastics
Healthy Hodags have high hopes
Team preview: RHS gymnastics
"The girls are motivated. They want to send some to state. Actually, their goal is to take the team to state," coach Heather Sturtevant said.
The Hodags never reached their full potential last year, a season that was derailed by injuries and illness.
Rhinelander never had its projected varsity starting lineup entirely intact. Regardless, the Hodags still finished second in the Great Northern Conference Small Division - less than two points behind division champion Medford at the conference meet - and placed sixth in a field of eight at WIAA sectionals.
The good news for the Hodags is that their entire starting lineup is back and healthy, and the team will be fortified by a crop of incoming freshmen.
Leading the list of returning athletes is senior Stephanie Kuester, who missed the last three meets of last season due to injury. She was the GNC Small runner-up in the all-around two years ago.
Stephanie's twin sister, Makayla, a three-event athlete, returns. So does last year's GNC Small all-around runner-up Raven Sturtevant and Harlie Zimmermann, who placed third at conference on the uneven bars.
"Having Steph back, hopefully we can keep her injury free," coach Sturtevant said. "We have Raven back with already some new skills, really looking to be on the podium again. Harlie's been working hard. She's got some new skills already.
"We're looking real tight, those first couple varsity spots."
Also back is Alyssa Mitchell, who broke her arm in a practice fall toward the end of last season.
Part of the key to the Hodags' success this year will be staying healthy. While it's impossible to totally eliminate injuries, Sturtevant said the Hodags are doing all they can to prevent a repeat of last season.
"We're doing a lot more conditioning. We're in the weight room twice a week, so we're hoping to be more preventative instead of dealing with the injuries after the fact," she said.
Joining the returning gymnasts are a group of six freshmen, all of whom have previous experience in the youth and James Williams Middle School gymnastics programs.
"We have some incoming freshmen with some really good talent, so we have girls really vying for that fourth and fifth position on varsity in all of the events," Sturtevant said. "They're asking a lot of questions and they're very coachable. It's a big jump from middle school doing compulsory (routines) to doing high school and having different requirements. They're really to eager to work all they can to maximize the starting values on their routines."
Autumn Shafer, Bridget Koser and Lilly Bishop were all all-arounders for the middle school squad next year and are among the ninth-graders who are vying for varsity spots.
That depth will be an added insurance policy for the Hodags, in case injuries do become an issue this year.
With a full lineup, the Hodags have their sights set on Medford as they look to regain their Small Division crown. Even with a depleted roster, the Hodags lost last year's dual meet to the Raiders by less than a quarter point, and were only 1.675 points behind Medford at conference. The Raiders will be ready for the challenge, projected to bring back all of their starters from a season ago.
But Sturtevant said the team has even bigger aspirations than a division title.
The path to state became a little easier as Rice Lake bounced out of the Antigo Division 2 sectional. That said, traditional regional powers Antigo and Ashland still stand in the Hodags' way. Only the top two teams in the sectional meet qualify for the team portion of the state tournament the first weekend of March in Wisconsin Rapids.
Though Ashland and Antigo both compete in the GNC Large Division, the Hodags will have a number of opportunities to see both teams during non-conference invites during the season.
Antigo is scheduled to attend today's season opener in Wisconsin Rapids and both Antigo and Ashland will be at the Hodags' annual Snowflake Invite next Saturday at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
"We're hoping to get an idea and see how we might need to up our game further," Sturtevant said.
The Hodags open GNC Small play against Mosinee Dec. 12.
This season's conference meet will take place Feb. 17 at Wisconsin Rapids.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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