March 1, 2021 at 8:11 a.m.
Rhinelander's Bishop finishes 20th on state balance beam
Rhinelander's Bishop finishes 20th on state balance beam
Bishop finished 20th out of 20 qualifiers in the event with a score of 7.25. The senior stated prior to the meet that she had nothing to lose in her final high school performance, and she added a few new skills to her routine.
It led to a couple of falls that cost her what would have been a new personal best in the event.
"I know she was hoping for more, but you have two falls that's a full point off your score," coach Heather Sturtevant said. "But she still did very well."
Not only was there a half-point deduction per fall, Sturtevant said both came at the end of bonus high superior combinations. As a result, Bishop did not get credit for the skills, and the bonus points that came with them.
"The skills that she was working on, to try to up her starting value, she executed well, until the last moment when, unfortunately, she fell," Sturtevant said. "Her two falls were on two combinations with those advanced highs that she was landing all week. She actually executed the skills in the air beautifully. Her back walkovers were beautiful."
Bishop qualified for state with a fourth-place finish at sectionals in Rhinelander Feb. 18 with a score of 8.0. It was her first trip to the state meet.
"We fell, but she's in the top 20 of the state," Sturtevant said. "We're still so proud of her and it's such an accomplishment. It's something, for seven years, she's been wanting to happen and it did. She should go home and be super proud of that."
As it turned out, balance beam was not Bishop's only performance at the state meet. She was tasked with singing the National Anthem prior to the second session of Saturday's competition.
Bishop, along with teammate Bridget Koser, sang the anthem before Rhinelander's home gymnastics meets this season.
Sturtevant said the WIAA put out an email looking for singers, and that RHS activities director Brian Paulson suggested Bishop, who agreed to the performance.
"She was nervous with it, but she did a great job," Sturtevant said. "I don't know if anybody else threw that on and volunteered."
It is not the first time that an RHS student has sang the anthem prior to a WIAA state event. Most recently Jaylen Janssen sang the anthem prior to the 2019 WIAA D2 girls' state swim meet in Madison.
River Valley's Larisa Shatrawka won the D2 balance beam competition with a score of 9.2. Whitefish's Bay's Madi Kolger was second (9.17) while Cassi Hanson of Nicolet and Anneh Britz of Whitefish Bay tied for third (9.15).
Whitefish Bay won the team championship with a score of 146.575, and also had the individual all-around champion with Addie Gallun (37.7).
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Divisions 1 and 2 were split this season. The Division 1 meet remained in Wisconsin Rapids, the long-time home of the state competition. Division 2 was held at Performance Elite Gymnastics in La Crosse. Additionally, the meet was condensed to one day with teams and individuals competing simultaneously, instead of separate competitions, and the field was split up between two sessions.
Sturtevant said Saturday's event had a much more low-key feel than previous state meets.
"It was different, the whole vibe," she said. "We talked to other coaches and it just didn't feel like a state meet. We're so grateful it happened, but it absolutely did not feel like a high school state meet for all of Wisconsin. It was very different."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.