January 24, 2020 at 12:58 p.m.
Hodag gymnasts beat Lakeland, move to 3-0 in GNC Small
Hodag gymnasts beat Lakeland, move to 3-0 in GNC Small
The Hodags outpointed the T-Birds in all four events and cruised to a 107.925-89.4 victory at Lakeland Union High School in Minocqua.
The win moved Rhinelander to 3-0 in the GNC Small, setting the stage for what will likely be a battle for first in the division when Medford (2-0) heads to Rhinelander Feb. 11.
"They really wanted to make sure they came out of tonight with the win so that we are going in undefeated against Medford," Rhinelander coach Heather Sturtevant said. "We didn't want to give away any conference points."
With Autumn Shafer (elbow) still out of the lineup, and a couple of other scratches due to illness, the Hodags still managed to finish in the 107-point bracket as the have in all three meets so far with Shafer out of the lineup.
"My girls just keep rising to what we need and I'm super proud of them for that," Sturtevant said.
Junior Lilli Bishop placed in the top four in all events, including a win on the floor exercise (8.15) as she took the individual all-around (28.9) by nearly two full points over Lakeland's Julie Neuburg. Bishop was the runner-up on both vault (7.65) and uneven bars (6.7) and finished fourth on balance beam (6.4).
"I'm proud of her. Lilli really is our go-to as far as being an all-around and setting the tone," Sturtevant said. "She didn't necessarily win everything or have her highest (score), but we know we can count on her for real solid scores on everything."
Rhinelander had a couple of personal best on its way to a 1-2 finish on balance beam. Sophomore Abby Belbot had a no-fall routine to take the event with a 7.4. Freshman Payton Rudawski finished second with a 7.15.
"It was an absolute stellar performance, personal best, no-fall routine again. It was beautiful to watch," Sturtevant said of Belbot's beam routine.
Bridget Koser matched a personal best on uneven bars (6.9) as she won that event.
"Bridget is getting more of her skills that she had at the end of last year on bars," Sturtevant noted. "Even without her uprise today, she matched her personal best. We know that can only go higher because she's working on getting another skill in there."
Bishop led a sweep of the top four spots for the Hodags on the floor exercise. Koser (7.525) was second followed by Rudawski (7.3) and Belbot (7.1). Rudawski (7.65) added a third-place finish on the vault. Belbot (24.95) finished third in the all-around.
The Hodags are back in action today, competing in the Rice Lake Invite.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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