February 25, 2019 at 12:11 p.m.
Hodags finish fourth at gymnastics sectionals
Hodags finish fourth at gymnastics sectionals
The Hodags finished fourth in the seven-team field with a score of 119.55 points and were unable to qualify any individuals for the WIAA state meet.
"We did still hit a 119. I was actually proud of that," coach Heather Sturtevant said.
Rhinelander's best chance going into the meet was senior Raven Sturtevant, but injuries hampered her routines and she was unable to secure a ticket back to Wisconsin Rapids.
"Raven has been dealing with hip and back issues the last couple of weeks and, today, she just wasn't able to muscle through," explained Heather Sturtevant, Raven's mother. "It definitely impacted a bit on bars and beam, especially on beam with how sure-footed she was on landing. There were large adjustments instead of just being able to just land and support. She had another no-fall routine, but a lot more of those extra movements."
The top five and ties in each event qualified for next weekend's state tournament. Sturtevant came the closest with a sixth-place finish on floor exercise with a score of 8.2, which was two-tenths of a point outside the top five.
Coach Sturtevant said Raven further aggravated her injury in practice and had to alter her routine as a result.
"She knew she couldn't do all the split jumps that she normally does," she said. "She made some adjustments and did a great job, but that hurt her routine."
Despite a no-fall routine, Raven Sturtevant's score of 7.6 on balance beam tied for ninth Friday and missed the state cutline by 0.4 points. Sturtevant qualified for state on uneven bars last year, but was able to muster a score of only 7.25 Friday, placing ninth and missing state by 0.55 points.
Sturtevant finished 10th in the all-around with a score of 31.15.
She was one of two seniors in the lineup for the Hodags Friday night. Harlie Zimmermann finished 21st on balance beam (6.7) and 14th on uneven bars (6.9).
"They both had hoped to do better. Obviously, Raven was hoping to get back to state one more time and kind of be able to enjoy it differently ... Definitely some disappointment," Heather Sturtevant said.
Sophomore Autumn Shafer set a personal best on vault with a score of 8.3 and finished 11th in the event, only 0.225 points outside the top five. Bridget Koser had Rhinelander's only other top 10 finish on the night, taking ninth on the floor exercise with an 8.075.
Rhinelander also recorded personal bests with Mallory Myers on balance beam (14th, 7.4), Lilli Bishop on uneven bars (13th, 6.925) and Abby Belbot on vault (26th, 7.4).
"It was good to see that and the girls enjoy going down with no expectations. A few girls I think were able to pull out a few extra tenths," Heather Sturtevant said.
Ashland won the meet with a score of 132.75 points and Medford earned the other team state berth, taking second with a 126.325.
Ashland claimed four of the top five spots in the all-around, led by Isabelle Seeger (33.75), Catie McPhereson was second, Bailey Nuutinen was fourth and Hailee Stricker was fifth. Medford's Brooklyn Bilz finished third in the all-around.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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