Sectional celebration

A journey several years in the making culminated Friday for the Rhinelander High School gymnastics team.

The Hodags picked the perfect time to have their best performance in more than a decade. Rhinelander scored 127.125 points to finish second at a WIAA Division 2 sectional meet in Antigo. That was good enough to earn Rhinelander a spot in the team portion of the WIAA state meet for just the seventh time in program history — and the first time since 2005.

Rhinelander will have plenty of representation in the individual portion of the state meet, too. Emeline Hintz, Marsadies Williams and Alexis Smith all scored at least one top-five finish to advance.

Overall, it was a near perfect night for the Hodags and the ultimate reward for several years of development for the squad. 

“I had a bunch of these girls, itty-bitties, when they were little, and then through middle school, and then now here on the high school team,” coach Kristina Aschenbrenner said. “To be able to see that growth, it’s just amazing to be able to be the coach for these ladies.”

“It’s an incredible opportunity. I’m so glad that we all have more time together, and I’m so proud of everyone on the team,” added Smith, who was the individual sectional champion on the vault.

    Rhinelander’s Alexis Smith vaults during a WIAA Division 2 sectional gymnastics meet in Antigo Friday, Feb. 27. Smith won the sectional title with a score of 8.7 and qualified for state in the event for the second time in her high school career. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Smith capped the night off in style as Rhinelander’s final competitor in its final event. She threw up a score of 8.7 on her second vault to win that event by a tenth of a point over individual all-around champion Clara Sieracki of Valders. It marks Smith’s second trip to state on vault, after making it into the field as an alternate in 2024.

“It felt amazing,” she said. “I came into this meet really early on, just hoping to do my best, and as the meet kept going, I was getting more nervous, seeing other girls doing really well on vault. I just told myself that I could do it. When we saw that score after my last vault, I was so excited. I was so happy, and we all were.”

    Rhinelander’s Emeline Hintz performs her floor exercise routine during a WIAA Division 2 sectional gymnastics meet in Antigo Friday, Feb. 27. Hintz finished third in the individual all-around, becoming the first Hodag to qualify for state in the all-around since 2013. (Brett LaBore/Lakeland Times)
  

Hintz, a fellow junior, became Rhinelander’s first qualifier in the individual all-around since 2013 as she took third Friday with a 32.325. Her night was highlighted by a career-high score on balance beam (8.675) as she finished third in that event. She nearly qualified on vault (8.45) and floor (8.625) as well, placing sixth in both events. 

“I’m very proud of myself, very surprised. I thought the last rotation of floor and beam was gonna take it from me, but I’m just very proud of myself that I kept going through the meet even after my not-so-good bar routine,” Hintz said. “I just kept going, kept the mood up and positive, and it worked out great in the end. I stuck my vault. My floor, I kept my legs straight, my toes pointed, all went well. My beam, I just kept my body tight and just stayed on the beam.”

Balance beam, Rhinelander’s second event of the night, served as the turning point and the catapult to state for the team. All five of Rhinelander’s gymnasts had no-fall beam routines and placed in the top 12 in the event. Their score of 32.125 was the best of the field in the event. 

    Rhinelander’s Marsadies Williams dismounts off balance beam during a WIAA Division 2 sectional gymnastics meet in Antigo Friday, Feb. 27. Williams finished fifth on beam, as well as uneven bars, as she qualified for state in both events. (Brett LaBore/Lakeland Times)
  

That included Williams, a freshman, who led off the event for the Hodags, stuck her routine and took fifth place with a 7.975.

“Usually you don’t put a freshman up as the first person on beam, and we made that switch at conference,” coach Aschenbrenner said. “It just really worked for us to be able to just have that progression through our team and just build as each person went up. That’s the goal, and I think we were able to accomplish that very successfully tonight.”

Williams also finished in a three-way tie for fifth on uneven bars (7.325) to advance in that event as she placed ninth in the all-around.

“Bars, after I did my free hip, I was kind of like, ‘What is going on?’ And I thought it was gonna be horrible, but it wasn’t that bad,” Williams said. “And then, beam, I am not really sure what happened. It just kind of went with the flow, I guess.”

Rhinelander solidified its spot as a contender for a team qualifying spot after the floor exercise, where a score of 33.475 vaulted the team into second spot through six of eight rotations. The Hodags closed the night on vault and, for a second straight meet, had all five gymnasts score in the 8s, as they won that event and secured the runner-up spot overall.

“We go to vault and your first person up on vault scores an 8.2, I mean, that’s amazing,” coach Aschenbrenner said. “Then for every score to go up after that, we’re dropping an 8.2 — a score I would have loved at the beginning of the season for anyone. Then Alexis, capping it off with a championship vault at the end was amazing.”

Smith narrowly missed advancing in the all-around, finishing in a tie for sixth (31.825), missing state by two tenths of a point. Sophomore Addison Fish posted a 31.15 in the all-around, taking 11th. 

Sam Aschenbrenner competed in two events for Rhinelander, highlighted by an eighth-place finish on the balance beam (7.75). June Chiamulera led off the Hodags on the vault, scoring an 8.2 to take 16th. Freshman Payton Walentowski was 26th on the floor exercise (7.5).

It figured to be a four-way battle for the two team qualifying spots, based on season averages going into the meet. Waupun scored 130.15 to win the meet by just more than three points over Rhinelander. Valders was third (121.75), 3.375 points behind Rhinelander. Kaukauna was fourth, another 0.125 points back.

The 127.125 score was Rhinelander’s best since 2013, when it scored 127.15 in an invitational in Escanaba, Mich. It was an improvement of just over three tenths of a point from the team’s GNC Small Division championship-winning score a week prior in Minocqua.

“Conference was great. We hit routines there. We felt good. We had some personal bests in every single area. So going into sectionals, my thought was if we could just repeat conference, we’re gonna do well,” coach Aschenbrenner said.

The team portion of the WIAA state meet will take place Friday, March 6 at Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High School. Hintz, Smith and Williams will compete in the individual portion of the state meet Saturday, March 7 in Rapids. 

“I’m just very happy that we all can go to state together. It’s gonna be so fun,” Hintz said.

“I think my goal is for the team is for us to go out there and just take it all in and experience it and throw our routines and just enjoy our time,” coach Aschenbrenner added. “That’s what I’m hoping for. This is an event to celebrate.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].