January 28, 2019 at 12:10 p.m.
Hodag gymnasts place sixth in Antigo
Hodag gymnasts place sixth in Antigo
It was a solid but not spectacular day for the Hodags, who posted a team score of 117.75 despite missing two-event starter Harlie Zimmermann due to illness.
"I'm really proud of them," coach Heather Sturtevant said. "We had girls trying new things. We had someone who had never done varsity bars before (fill in). The girls are competing against themselves, trying to better things. This just keeps showing us what we need to work on."
Rhinelander had one of its better days of the season on balance beam, recording only one fall in its five varsity routines.
"At the beginning of the season, beam was definitely not our friend and now they are fighting for things, not just wobble, wobble, wobble, staying on," coach Sturtevant said. "They're staying on solid, landing their skills. That's huge with four more meets left. Hopefully we'll continue to build on that."
Raven Sturtevant led the Hodags in all four events and placed 12th in the individual all-around with a score of 31.3. Her day was highlighted by a 12th-place finish on uneven bars (7.7) and a career-best score of 8.4 on vault, which finished in a tie for 14th. Sturtevant finished 19th on balance beam with a 7.3 despite a fall and another near fall.
Sophomore Autumn Shafer was the only other Hodag to crack the top 20 in any events. She placed 18th on the vault (8.2) and 20th on the beam with a career-high 7.25.
The Hodags had a solid day on floor with a 30.975, posting scores of 7.5 or better with all five of their routines.
"We know we have a lot of personality in those routines. They're fun to watch and they're doing well," Heather Sturtevant said.
With the exception of Lakeland, which pulled out of the competition at the last minute, all of the schools that will be in Antigo next month for the WIAA Division 2 sectionals were in attendance on Saturday. The Hodags finished fourth among those teams behind Ashland (131.95), Medford (126.575) and Antigo (121.375).
The 14-team meet was split into two divisions based on team scores throughout the season. This year, Rhinelander's scores were high enough to be placed in the more competitive maroon division.
"We kind of knew, especially being short-handing with Harlie out sick, it was going to be tough to hit those numbers today," Heather Sturtevant said. "But, again, it really showed us what we need to work on instead of coming down here, having a perfect, perfect day and going, 'Uh oh, did we peak took early?' We can continue to work on things in our next couple meets and get ready for conference and sectionals."
Weather permitting, Rhinelander is scheduled to host Antigo this evening in a GNC Small-Large crossover dual at the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium. The Hodags and Medford will square off for first place in the GNC Small next Tuesday at the Miazga Gym.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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