February 20, 2019 at 1:12 p.m.
Hodag gymnasts to go for broke at sectionals
Hodag gymnasts to go for broke at sectionals
The Hodags have indeed been neck and neck with the Red Robins this season, outscoring Antigo by eight-tenths of a point last Saturday at the GNC meet. One thing Rhinelander didn't count on, however, was the resurgence of Medford's gymnastics program.
That means the Hodags enter tomorrow night's WIAA Division 2 sectional meet in Antigo with the same expectations as the last few years - to try to end the season on a high note from a team perspective and to try to get at least one gymnast to qualify for state as an individual.
"Now it's how can we, as a team, break that 120 (point) mark on Friday," Rhinelander coach Heather Sturtevant said last Saturday after the Raiders gapped the Hodags by a whopping 8.25 points for the GNC Small title. "Can we be the third-place team? We did beat Antigo by almost eight-tenths of a point. Can we be that third team? That's really kind of the goals, I really think we can reach."
The top two teams from a sectional that includes the entire GNC Small, Antigo and Ashland from the GNC Large, and Washburn will compete in the team portion of the state meet March 1 in Wisconsin Rapids. The top five gymnasts and ties in each event and the all-around will qualify for the individual state meet the following day.
Ashland, which scored 133.625 points in the GNC meet, and Medford (128.125) are the odds-on favorites to represent the sectional in the team portion of state. It would take quite a turn of events for either Rhinelander (119.875) or Antigo (119.075) to catch the top two teams.
Expect plenty of competition for the qualifiying spots in the individual events as well. Washburn's lone gymnast, junior Lakyn Sonday, is back to defend her sectional crown in two events as well as the all-around. Throw in Ashland's core four of all-arounders Catie McPherson, Isabelle Seeger, Hailee Stricker and Bailey Nuutinen - along with impressive Medford freshmen Makala Ulrich and Brooklyn Bilz, and the fight for the top five spots will be fierce.
Senior Raven Sturtevant figures to be Rhinelander's best bet to qualify, after making it to the state meet as an individual last year on uneven bars. She struggled with a fall in the event last Saturday at the GNC's and her score of 6.60 would have been only 15th-best among sectional participants in the field. However, her score of 8.15 a week prior at the Ashland Invite would have been second among sectional participants.
Sturtevant has also been on a roll on balance beam as of late, with scores of 8.15 or better in her last three competitions. She was the GNC Small champ in the event last Saturday with a career-high score of 8.525, which was third-best among sectional participants.
"Raven is really hoping to go back on something," said Heather Sturtevant, Raven's mother. "(Saturday) she looked really good on beam. Had that been sectionals, she would have gone (to state). She would have been third, once you threw Ashland in. She just missed all-around, but she had a significant loss on bars. If we can dial that in too, who knows."
Sturtevant scored 31.55 in the all-around last Saturday, which was seventh-best among sectional participants.
Longshots for state include senior Harlie Zimmermann, who had the 12th-best score among sectional participants last week on both balance beam and uneven bars; Lilli Bishop who was 11th-best on floor exercise; Autumn Shafer, who was 12th-best on vault and Mallory Myers, who was 12th-best on floor.
Knowing that, coach Sturtevant said her team can go for broke Friday night.
"We know some of the girls, they have some new skills and they're like, 'What the heck, let's just go for it,'" she said. "If we can pull out a few more personal bests. It's a great time to be peaking, at the end of the season."
Tomorrow's meet get underway at 5 p.m. at Antigo High School's Sheldon Fieldhouse.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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