December 10, 2018 at 1:26 p.m.
Hodags take third at Snowflake Invite
Hodags take third at Snowflake Invite
The Hodags had a solid day on beam Saturday, highlighted by a personal-best routine from senior Raven Sturtevant, as the team placed third in its own Snowflake Invitational Saturday at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium.
The Hodags scored 117.5 points on the day, up nearly three points from their first meet of the season, and beat all the GNC Small schools in the field.
Rhinelander had only three falls in five routines on the beam Saturday, down from five falls a week earlier in a season-opening invite at Medford. That ultimately helped the Hodags edge Medford as the top GNC Small school in the field.
"The nerves are starting to loosen up a little bit more and we're seeing more smiling faces and a little more personality in the routines, which is always fun to see as they start making them their own," Hodag coach Heather Sturtevant said.
Raven Sturtevant capped off the day for Rhinelander with a stellar performance on the beam. Not only did she stay on the beam for her entire routine, she was credited for some bonuses she did not receive in Medford, which earned her a career-best 8.5 score from the judges. That was good enough for fifth place overall in the event.
"That was huge on beam," said coach Sturtevant, Raven's mother. "She's really been working her acro(batic) connection and must had of gotten it today in order to score an 8.5."
That ended up being Rhinelander's only top 10 finish on the day against a strong field that included GNC Large teams Marshfield, Ashland and Antigo. Sturtevant finished 11th in the all-around with a score of 31.325.
Regardless, the Hodags had a number of personal bests on the day. Sophomores Bridget Koser (28.6) and Autumn Shafer (28.525), posted career marks in the all-around as they finished 14th and 15th, respectively. Shafer also set a personal best on vault (8.1) while Koser posted a personal best on beam (7.225).
Lilli Bishop had a personal best on vault (7.9) and freshman Mallory Myers set two personal bests, in the floor exercise (7.3) and the vault (7.6).
"Mallory Myers, a freshman, ended up doing two varsity events today and did really good and looked a lot more confident," Sturtevant said. "I think our biggest thing is it's a fun, cohesive unit. It's really fun watching them be so supportive to each other and the other teams."
Raven Sturtevant was also Rhinelander's top scorer on uneven bars (7.575), where she placed 12th. She and Shafer tied for 13th on vault with matching 8.1s. Shafer led the Hodags on the floor exercise, taking 18th with a 7.6.
Overall, Heather Sturtevant said the team spent the most time working on vault and balance beam following last weekend's opener in Medford, which showed in Saturday's scores. The team's struggles came on floor exercise, its first event of the day.
"Our girls have such beautiful routines and such personality but we're having a hard time getting those extra connections and those extra bonuses to raise our starting value," she noted. "I know we'll get there."
Saturday's event was also an early season preview of the WIAA Division 2 sectional meet that will be held in Antigo in February. All eight teams in that sectional were including in Saturday's field. Rhinelander finished second among those teams, behind only Ashland. The Hodags edged Medford for third place by 0.35 points. Antigo, a perennial state contender, finished fifth nearly three points behind the Hodags.
"There's a lot more talent spread through the teams instead of just a true dominant team or two, which we've had in some years," coach Sturtevant said. "We're really seeing every team's got a couple (who are) really great on something. It's going to be kind of fun this year at sectionals. We're going to have more of a mix going to state."
The Hodags host Chequamegon, which placed seventh Saturday (93.525), in a GNC Small dual tonight at the Miazga Gym. It's Rhinelander's final meet before the holiday break.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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