December 13, 2017 at 2:10 p.m.
Hodag gymnasts vault past Mosinee in GNC opener
Hodag gymnasts vault past Mosinee in GNC opener
The Hodags outscored the Indians in all four events to take the dual meet 118.325-102.725 at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
Rhinelander particularly stood out on vault, with a season-high score of 32.95 points.
"Our vault was phenomenal. We had to throw out a 7.8, that's absolutely huge," Hodag co-coach April Denis said. "I was just ecstatic about our vault. Every single girl is just nailing their vault and they all want to start twisting. That's what we need and I think we're on the right track with that."
That improvement included a more difficult vault performed by senior Stephanie Kuester, who scored an 8.6 in the event and won three events in total, on her way to winning the individual all-around with a score of 32.325.
Kuester, who had previously performed only a handspring on the vault, added a full turn to her vault, increasing the degree of difficulty and her score in the process.
"She's doing almost perfect handsprings and her score can be only 8.6 at the highest. Starting (value) on a handspring full I believe is a 9.6," Denis explained. "She's got a lot more room in there. She got an 8.6 today and probably would have never got that on a handspring. I think she's ready to keep working on that and I think that one will be very successful for her."
Kuester also won the floor exercise (8.3) and the uneven bars (7.675), and was second to Mosinee's Lydia Ruthe on balance beam (7.75). Ruthe finished 1.15 points behind Kuester in the all-around. Rhinelander's Raven Sturtevant finished this with a 30.3.
The Hodags' depth led the way Tuesday night. Rhinelander took the top four positions on vault with Stephanie Kuester, her twin sister Makayla (8.25), Sturtevant (8.2) and freshman Bridget Koser (7.9).
Koser added a runner-up finish on the floor exercise (7.75) Overall, Rhinelander took four of the top five spots on uneven bars and floor exercise, in four of the top six on balance beam.
The Hodags' team score was down roughly a point from its performance three days earlier in the Snowflake Invite. While vault improved, Rhinelander's marks were lower on uneven bars and the team still struggled on balance beam, falling eight times.
"We struggled a little bit on bars," Denis said. "Some of the girls tried a couple new moves and we're trying to get those connections between those skills on bars. I was pleased that they were trying to do some new things instead of holding back.
"Beam, we looked a little more confident. We still had eight falls, but the girls looked a little more confident up there, not as shaky. Again, we're trying to get those connections."
The Hodags also won the JV competition 84.4-41.6 over Mosinee. Freshman Lilli Bishop took first in the JV all-around (24.9).
"We've got some very talented JV that we're going to be able to move around on varsity," Denis notes. "For some of them, that was their first meet at the high school level. They were fun to watch."
The Hodags travel to Lakeland next Tuesday for a non-conference dual meet, their final competition before the winter break.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.