Hodag gymnasts finish second in GNC Small

The Rhinelander High School gymnastics team appears to be peaking at the right time as the 2024-25 season nears its conclusion.

The Hodags bettered their season-best score — vaulting up to a 121.65 Saturday — as they finished runner-up in the GNC Small Division, and sixth overall, at the Great Northern Conference meet in Stevens Point.

The performance was more than a point higher than the mark it had set the previous Saturday at the Ashland Invite and the team’s highest score since posting a 121.9 in the 2018 WIAA D2 sectional meet.

“As a team and individually we had some great performances,” Hodag coach Kristina Aschenbrenner said. “We did really great compared to our other small teams in conference. We got second place for small teams today so that was great.”

The breakthrough for the Hodags on Saturday came on uneven bars, an event for years that has lagged well behind the others for team score. Rhinelander had three performances in the 7s on Saturday and scored a 28.0 in the event. That proved to be the main point of separation as the Hodags pulled away from Antigo and Mosinee to break the three-way tie for second the teams were in following dual meet play. 

“We knew would we 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 so phenomenal bars today.”

Sophomore Alexis Smith earned two spots on the all-conference team, placing third on both the floor exercise (8.4) and the vault (8.2). While only the top three earn all-conference honors, the top five made the podium. Freshman Emeline Hintz, was able to able to 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.

Hintz 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). Smith finished sixth in the all-around (30.3).

“Unbelievable job that they did and some of the others were so close. They were just a couple places from placing,” coach Aschenbrenner said. 

Rhinelander had five gymnasts compete in the all-around. Samantha Aschenbrenner was ninth (29.325), Addison Fish was 10th (29.3) and Wendy Fronk finished 12th (28.575). All three had a pair of top-10 finishes. Fronk was seventh on balance beam (7.5) and eighth on floor (8.05); Fish was eighth on bars (7.2) and ninth on vault (7.75) and Aschenbrenner was 10th on both floor (7.8) and bars (7.0).

“We started on vault and I think the scores escalated through the day, because we were pretty low compared to where we usually are,” coach Aschenbrenner noted. “I think they (the judges) just were tough on vault so that kind of brought the girls down a little bit. Bars definitely raised the spirits and we carried that over to beam. 

“Two no-fall beam routines with Emeline and Wendy. Wendy threw her new skill, a walkover. The other girls were throwing new skills too. Just couple falls but, overall, a good beam. I would say floor all of our girls hit our routines. The scores might not have been there but they put their best out there.”

Ashland, which went 3-0 in GNC Small duals, won the Small Division title — posting a team score of 128.65 on Saturday. Antigo (116.775) was third and Mosinee (112.225) took fourth. Stevens Point won the GNC Large with a 139.45.

Ashland’s Kaia Werner won the Small Division all-around at 33.9 while Marshfield’s Alyvia Dietsche won three of the four events and claimed the Large Division all-around at 36.825.

The Hodags will compete in a WIAA Division 2 sectional this coming Saturday in Ashland. Coach Aschenbrenner said the team will try to post one more season high and as it tries to garner some entries into the WIAA state meet. 

“The girls are feeling good. We will probably have the same roster going into sectionals next, so this week we’re not going to be adding anything new, just really trying to clean up what we did today and be able to get those routines again,” she said.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].