February 20, 2017 at 12:42 p.m.
Hodag gymnasts take 2nd in GNC Small
Hodag gymnasts take 2nd in GNC Small
The Hodags scored 114.525 points to finish second in the Small division at the Great Northern Conference meet in Mosinee. Medford won the meet with 116.2 points which, coupled with the Raiders' 4-0 dual meet record, was enough to take the crown away from the defending champion Hodags.
Rhinelander was far from 100 percent healthy, without Stephanie Kuester (head/neck) and Alyssa Mitchell (arm), but others stepped up to make up for most of the missing production.
"We're very, very proud of the girls," RHS co-coach April Denis said. "Without Alyssa and Steph - both very strong all-arounds - the other girls really, really stepped up. They were focused, did what they needed and we stayed on the balance beam. That was huge for us. They slowed down a little bit and really fought for everything."
The Hodags couldn't quite make up for the absence of Kuester and Mitchell on uneven bars where they were forced to take a 3.725 for their fourth counting score. Kuester and Mitchell typically score between the high 6s to low 8s in the event.
Otherwise, it was a solid day for the Hodags. Sophomore Raven Sturtevant posted a career-best total of 31.0 in the all-around to finish second in the Small division. She was second on bars (7.3) and floor exercise (7.9), third on balance beam (7.6) and fourth on vault (8.2).
The top three finishers in each individual event, and the all-around, received all-conference honors. In addition to Sturtevant's haul, Harlie Zimmermann received honorable mention with a third-place finish and a career high on bars (7.4).
Makayla Kuester reached the podium with fourth-place finishes on bars (7.175) and floor exercise (7.65). Freshman Emily Radke tied for fifth on balance beam (7.3).
"We podiumed quite a few girls," Denis said. "We had Harlie. Emily Radke made it up there. Makayla was up there a few times. I think some of the girls were shocked that they were up there. It was exciting to see. We had a variety of girls getting up on podium."
Where the Hodags made up a lot of points Saturday was on balance beam. After combining to take 11 falls on the event two days prior in a dual meet against Chequamegon, the Hodags had only three falls Saturday. Mikayla Evenstad, Mattia Beske and Radke had no-fall routines to start the rotation, which Denis said was key.
"Definitely a huge improvement," she said. "Mikayla went out and started the group off with a no-fall routine. The next two went up with no-fall beam routines. That takes a little pressure off the last two girls. They had falls, but they still completed some big skills that they needed."
Zimmermann, competing for the first time in the all-around, took eighth with a 28.475, finishing less than four-tenths of a point outside the top five. Evenstad was 14th in the all-around (24.1).
"It shows that we are a team. It doesn't matter who is out, the girls are stepping up for the team," Denis said. "I think they feel pretty good about what they did. Our score is right where have been all season."
The Hodags return to action Thursday night at a WIAA Division 2 sectional in Antigo. With GNC Large co-champion Ashland, along with Rice Lake and Antigo, are expected to gobble up most of the state qualifying spots, Denis said the Hodags will take the same approach it did heading into the conference meet - working toward personal bests.
"If everybody does their own best it kind of brings the whole team score up," she said. "We didn't even focus on the team score today. We focused on the individual and I think that helped."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.