Team review: RHS gymnastics

The rebuilding of the Rhinelander High School gymnastics program continued during the 2024-25 season, and significant progress was made along the way as the Hodags look to get back to contending for conference championships and spots at the WIAA state meet.

Though the Hodags didn’t send anyone to state this year, the season most certainly could be called a success. Rhinelander had a season average of 117.07 points this season and topped out at a 121.65 during the Great Northern Conference meet. 

By comparison, the Hodags’ highest score in the 2023-24 season was a 113.3 — a total they surpassed in every meet this season. 

“Just the depth of the team to be able to bring in people to compete varsity and step in was amazing,” Hodag coach Kristina Aschenbrenner said last month following the team’s banquet. “The work ethic and the camaraderie and the support, and just the fun that the girls had was just amazing. It was just such a fun team to coach all year long. Both (assistant coach) April (Denis) and I just said we were renewed in our coaching because it was such a great team.”

Here are five storylines from the recently completed season. 

Numbers boom

One of the big reasons for the improvement this season could be traced back to the sheer depth within the program. In the 2022-23 season, Aschenbrenner’s first as head coach, fielding a full lineup was a challenge most of the time and the team finished the year with only three gymnasts. 

Fast forward to this past November and the Hodags had more than 20 gymnasts at the first practice. A number of them had come through the ranks of the middle school and YMCA youth programs but there were also a number of upperclassmen either trying the sport for the first time or returning to the sport following a lengthy sabbatical. 

“After the fall season sports kind of ended, we just started seeing a new face and then a new face the next week and then they told their friends, and we some more new faces,” coach Aschenbrenner said.

Battling injury

Fifteen gymnasts competed for the Hodags this year, including 13 who competed on varsity at some point during the season. 

Rhinelander needed that depth because of attrition. Sophomore Karly Gillingham, one of Rhinelander’s top gymnasts last year, wasn’t able to compete this season due to a back injury. Newcomers Addison Fish and Emeline Hintz both missed meets due to injury and exchange student Margherita Tibaldeschi, who showed flashes early in the year, had her season cut short by injury. 

However, the Hodags were far better equipped to absorb those losses than in years past thanks to its numbers. 

In addition to returning gymnasts Wendy Fronk, Sam Aschenbrenner and Alexis Smith who, along with Hintz and Fish, made up Rhinelander’s starting five by season’s end, the Hodags had several others step up and fill in through out the course of the season. Some of them had never competed on varsity prior to this year. 

“We had a lot of girls who contributed throughout the year and that was evident when we had all three of our freshman letter this year,” coach Aschenbrenner said. “We had our newbies all Mollie (Arneson), Olivia (Ruetz), June (Chiamulera), Brynn (Teter), they all lettered this year because they all contributed. They all competed varsity at least one meet or were alternates and some contributed to this team score.”

Finishing high

The Hodags had an odd schedule this year, with two meets in December and another Jan. 4 which proved to be the team’s only meet that month. Things kicked into high gear after that, with seven meets in a 29-day span between the Antigo Invite Feb. 1 and WIAA sectionals March 1. 

The backloaded schedule seemed to play into the Hodags’ hands. 

The final five meets of the season were Rhinelander’s best, based on team score. The team scored 117 or higher in all five contests. The Hodags broke into the 120s for the first time since 2019 with a 120.55 total at the Valentine’s Invite in Ashland Feb. 15 and then posted its season high a week later at conference. The team score was bolstered that day by a season-high total 28.0 on uneven bars, which has been its weakest event for several years. 

“We knew we would need to work on bars and the girls have been working so hard,” coach Aschenbrenner said. “We’ve just been slowly climbing up and made some huge goals both as a team score and also individuals having three girls placing over a 7.0 and bars so phenomenal today.”

Statbook 

    In this March 1, 2025 file photo, Rhinelander’s Wendy Fronk competes on vault during a WIAA Division 2 gymnastics sectional meet in Ashland. Fronk, a senior, was Rhinelander’s top performer on balance beam this season — averaging 7.55 on the event with a team-best six no-fall routines. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

Though the Hodags dropped down to a 119.2 at sectionals, and were outclassed by a field that included eventual WIAA Division 2 team state champion Rice Lake, there were plenty of highlights for the squad during the course of the season. 

The Hodags went 1-2 in GNC Small duals and, in the process beat Antigo head-to-head for the first time in nearly two decades. Rhinelander took second in the Small Division at the GNC meet to finish second overall in that division, its best finish in conference since placing second in the 2020-21 season. 

Individually, Smith earned two spots on the all-conference team, placing third on both the floor exercise (8.4) and the vault (8.2). Hintz, meanwhile, made the podium in two events plus the all-around as she posted a season-high total of 31.4 to place fourth among gymnasts in the GNC Small.

She was fourth on the vault (8.15) and fifth on balance beam (7.7) to make the podium in those events. She posted Rhinelander’s top score on uneven bars (7.4), taking sixth in that event. She was also sixth on the floor exercise (8.15).

At sectionals, Smith came the closest to qualifying for state, tying for eighth on the vault. Fronk was the next closest, taking 12th on balance beam with a score of 7.925. Fronk went out in style with a no-fall routine as the last gymnast on Rhinelander’s last rotation of the day. 

Overall on the season, Rhinelander had a number of gymnasts who fared consistently well. Fish, Hintz, Smith, Tibaldeschi, Samantha Aschenbrenner and Fronk all averaged 28.5 or higher in the all-around. Smith, Hintz and Fish both broke into the 30s in the all-around during the season, with Fish posting the best all-around average on the team at 29.683.

Those six also posted routines that scored in the 8s on vault during the year, with Smith leading the way with an average score of 8.415. Smith was one of four gymnasts who made it into the 8s on floor this year and led the team with a 7.9825 average. Fronk had the team’s lone 8-plus performance on balance beam this season, something she accomplished twice. She led the squad with six no-fall routines on balance beam and had a team-best 7.5528 average score in the event. Fish led the team on uneven bars with a 6.6972 average.

What’s next

The Hodags will lose three gymnasts next season. Fronk and Teter will graduate while Tibaldeschi will return home to Italy. However, optimism remains high as a number of the gymnasts will return, mainly as juniors or sophomores. Last month Samantha Aschenbrenner, Smith, Fish and Hintz continued their seasons at the club level, competing in the YMCA state completion where their team finished second overall. 

All of that has coach Aschenbrenner optimistic for even greater accomplishments next season. 

“We have a lot of things in the offseason we’re looking forward to,” she said. “Our sophomore group is phenomenal. Our freshmen that we brought in, I mean, we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of what they’re able to do, and I know we have some eighth graders that are also phenomenal and will be working hard in the gym, this summer.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].