March 31, 2022 at 7:12 a.m.
Team review: RHS gymnastics
Team review: RHS gymnastics
The team finished with only four gymnasts, none of whom did all-around consistently for the team the previous year. Yet, the team came together at the right time, tied for second in the GNC Small division and posted its best score of the season at the WIAA sectional meet.
"This was a tough season. We had a lot of ups and downs, but we are so proud of you four ladies that stuck through it," coach Heather Sturtevant said during the team's season-ending banquet. "You did not give up on your team in one season. You kept the team in mind as you did things, so it wasn't just personal. You supported each other when we really, really needed it. You stepped up when we really, really needed it, to really finish the season."
Here are five storylines from the recently completed season.
Numbers game
Rhinelander began the season with holes to fill after graduating all-arounders Bridget Koser and Lilli Bishop, the latter of whom qualified for state on the balance beam.
Yet, with a roster of 11 girls, the team figured to have the depth to absorb those loses.
However, due to injury and other circumstances, the team's numbers started to decline. By the time February rolled around, the team was left with only four gymnasts - senior Abby Belbot, junior Leta Cole, sophomore Claire Wilberding and freshman Sophie Miljevich.
The team backed out of a GNC Large-Small crossover against Wisconsin Rapids Jan. 25 as a result and nearly pulled out of an invite in Ashland. The Hodags had only two gymnasts available for that meet, but decided to go anyway.
"We almost pulled out yesterday, but they wanted to go," Sturtevant said. "These girls went to this invite for all the right reasons. They been working on some things. They threw in some new things and there was absolutely no pressure."
Stepping up
In high school gymnastics, the four best marks in each event are used to calculate the team's score. With only four gymnasts on the roster by season's end, the math made lineup decisions very simple for the team. In order for the highest score possible, all four gymnasts had to compete in the all-around.
Rhinelander took a couple of zeros in late-season meets as it scrambled to ensure all of its athletes could compete on every apparatus. That resulted in a score of 91.9 in a dual meet against Mosinee Feb. 14. By the end of that week, the team was able to get all four gymnasts competing in all four events. That led to a second-place finish ahead of a short-handed Mosinee squad five days later at conference and a season-high score of 108.45 the following week at sectionals.
While Belbot and Miljevich were entrenched as all-arounders most of the season, Sturtevant said at the banquet that it was key for Cole and Wilberding to step up and try events they were not accustomed to.
"Claire she stepped in and did that straddle vault a couple of times," Sturtevant said. "That's only a 7.0 max and she's like, 'You know, I'd really like to work on vault.' We worked and worked and worked. She didn't vault for a number of meets. At conference and sectionals she pulled it off. She got a 7.45 at conference and a 7.5 at sectionals which was amazing and really helped our team.
"Leta doesn't really love floor, but we needed her to step up and she did really, really well. She also learned that you don't have to do those big skills. You don't necessarily have to do double back (flips) and full twists and all this crazy stuff. If we can be clean, we can still have a nice score."
Going out on a high note
By beating Mosinee at the conference meet, the Hodags extended their streak of finishing either first or second in the GNC Small to seven straight seasons. Medford won its fourth straight division title this year.
That meet spurred the team into sectionals where it posted its season highlight with a strong performance on floor exercise in its second-to-last event of the night. All four gymnasts either set or tied personal bests and the team set a season-high score of 31.375 in the event.
"They were supportive of one another. There was a light in all of them," Sturtevant said. "The floor routines, everything, they were just there and that's why we got the scores. I'm really proud. I know we're only four, but I'm very proud of these four girls and how they are performing and persevering and supporting one another."
Statbook
Miljevich was a consistent performer for the Hodags this season. The freshman led the team in all eight meets in which she did all-around, posting a season-high of 29.875 at sectionals. She had the team's best score on uneven bars eight times, vault seven times, floor exercise six times and balance beam four times in the 11-meet season.
"That 30 (in the all-around) is right there," Sturtevant said during the team's banquet. "Next year I know it will be and, for you personally, next year I hope you shoot for over 31. You can easily do that."
Belbot, who returned to the team after pursuing dance as a junior, was twice the team's all-around leader and had the team's best score on three separate occasions on both balance beam and floor exercise.
"We lost her last year. She went and tried dance for a little bit, but I'm so happy you came back to finish with us your senior year," Sturtevant said.
What's next
Whether its bringing back athletes who stepped away from the sport this season or bringing in athletes from the middle school ranks, the Hodags will need to find more numbers to field a full squad next year as Belbot's graduation will leave the team with only three returning starters.
"We can't throw up those big numbers because we just don't have the skills in our routines yet, but we do have some young girls," Sturtevant said. "We'll only have one senior again next year. Sophie's only a freshman, Claire's only a sophomore. We'll see who new comes in next year to kind of help continue to push each other to get those bigger skills, but I know they can. All we can do is just keep plugging like we are."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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