February 27, 2023 at 12:55 p.m.
Hodag gymnastics season ends at sectionals
Hodag gymnastics season ends at sectionals
The Hodags, who had only three gymnasts for much of the second half of the season, finished the night with 67.775 points, only a tenth of a point behind Lakeland, which was also shorthanded on the evening.
Sophomore Wendy Fronk was Rhinelander's top gymnast on the night, finishing 21st in the individual all-around with a score of 25.75 points. Senior Leta Cole was 22nd, only two-tenths of a point behind Fronk. Junior and first-year gymnasts Leighann Hoople was 24th with a 16.475.
"The night went well," coach Kristina Aschenbrenner said. "All three gymnasts completed each event, with vault being the highlight with all three having strong vaults. Leta had a very nice bar routine and despite one fall on beam had her best beam for the year. Wendy also had a great beam except for one fall. Leighann improved her scores in all areas."
Cole had Rhinelander's best individual finish on the night, taking 23rd in the uneven bars (6.9).
"Leta wraps up a great gymnastics career, as our sole senior," Aschenbrenner said. "I have seen Leta compete and grow from my seat as a judge to now as coach. Her skills and routines have been enhanced and improved each year. She is never afraid to try that new skill, especially on bars. A unique gymnast who marches to the beat of her own drum, she was always willing to provide advice to our newer gymnasts to help them improve."
Fronk led the Hodags in the three other events. She was 25th on the balance beam (7.0), 27th on the vault (7.6) and 31st on the floor exercise (6.85).
Medford (134.875) and Ashland (131.25) finished 1-2 in the meet to earn the two team qualifying spots at stake for the WIAA state meet this coming weekend in Wisconsin Rapids.
Rice Lake's Avery Ash, Medford's Kyla Krause, Medford's Kate Malchow, Bloomer's Olivia Price and Ashland's Jaycee Erickson were top five in the all-around, qualifying individually for state. The top five and ties in each event plus the all-around advanced to state. They will be joined by Mosinee's Avery Ahles (balance beam, floor exercise), Ashland's Ali Vittone (balance beam), Ashland's Tessa McFarland (floor exercise), Antigo's Andrea Shestak (uneven bars) and Bloomers' Celena Hess (vault).
The meet brought to a close Aschenbrenner's first season at the helm. The Hodags were plagued by low numbers much of the year and finished last in the Great Northern Conference Small division.
"We knew going into the season this would be a challenging year, with changes in coaching and joint practices (with the middle and high schools teams)," Aschenbrenner said. "We also knew it would be a small team, but we didn't anticipate how small. I want to thank Leta, Wendy and Leighann for their hard work, dedication to the sport and to their team. We were not short in team spirit and support."
Looking ahead, Aschenbrenner said she's hopeful that things will start to build for the team, noting strong numbers at the middle school level and long-term stability with the YMCA of the Northwoods soon concluding its second year of hosting a competitive youth gymnastics program. Furthermore, she said the plans to hold a meeting next month for current and potential future stakeholders within the program.
"We hope to pull together anyone interested in growing the Rhinelander Gymnastics program," she said. "We need to build our support system: coaches, judges, meet organizers, folks to cut floor music, help with choreography, weightlifting and flexibility trainers, etc. As little as one hour a week or one weekend a year, it will help."
Aschenbrenner asked those interested to email her at [email protected] for further details.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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