WIAA DIV. 1 GYMNASTICS - Rothmeier gets to state; great team finish for Raiders
WIAA DIV. 1 GYMNASTICS
The first vault of the meet wound up being its ultimate highlight, but it also sparked an incredible all-around day for the Medford-Colby gymnastics team, who had by far its best day of the season Saturday at the WIAA Division 1 West Salem sectional.
Bumped up to Division 1 by its success the last three years in Division 2 post-season competition under the WIAA’s new performance factor, the Raiders won’t be going back to state as a team but they got back to their recent tradition of shining when it matters most, earning a team score of 135.95. That was 4.7 points higher than any team score they’d earned this season and was just 0.425 points off the school record set at last year’s Antigo Invitational.
Sophomore Raylin Rothmeier is going to state individually. Leading off for Medford-Colby in its first event of the meet, she got a 9.225 on the first of her two vault attempts. That score eventually held on for fifth place in the event, just enough to send her to WIAA Division 1 state competition at Wisconsin Rapids on Saturday.
“That was a very big deal because I was not really expecting to make it,” Rothmeier said Monday. “We heard a lot of the scores from the other teams and how their year was going and it was definitely an eye opener.
“But, really on vault I thought maybe,” she added. “It was not 100% but there was a possibility so I was going to go into it thinking have fun, see how it goes and it worked out.”
Rothmeier’s 9.225 easily beat her previous best score of the year of 9.05, set two weeks earlier in Ashland. She got an 8.55 on her second vault. Vault scores are based on the gymnast’s best score in two attempts.
“I felt it was pretty good,” she said of her reaction to that first vault at the time. “Obviously there’s always things you can fix. But I thought it was pretty good.”
“Because she went last year, I knew it was a possibility,” Medford-Colby head coach Andrée Brushaber said. “The competition scores from other teams were looking difficult to beat leading up to sectionals, so we were hopeful but concerned. It was also a nice surprise since we started on vault and you just switch your brain to the next event as you move through the meet. To have her qualify from where we started at the meet was super cool. We knew she had the spot for a while but then some other vaults were going on and we were too busy to keep track. To hear our school represented and see her walk up the podium, it was a very beautiful moment for her.”
Rothmeier does a pike tsuk vault with a flip while also adding a round-off into the vault table. Like any state-caliber routine, it’s taken a lot of work to perfect.
“Last year was very much a learning year for me,” Rothmeier said. “That’s when I started doing the vault and I fell every time. I’ve definitely gotten better at it over the last two years.
“A lot of it is mental honestly and just feeling like you’re able to flip it. Feeling comfortable flipping and doing it with confidence is a lot of it,” she added. “The speed of your run, opening up on time. That’s a big part of it. That’s probably the main thing I struggle with is opening up on time. Sometimes I open up too early and land on my knees, sometimes I open up too late.”
At state Saturday, Rothmeier will compete right away in the opening rotation at 10 a.m. She is used to leading off in the event for the Raiders. On Saturday, she’s the last one in the rotation’s order, vaulting eighth. That will be a difference she said she’ll need to adapt to. But she said she’s also going into state week more relaxed having been through it as a freshman last year. In Division 2 competition last season, she qualified for state as an all-around gymnast but also qualified, ironically, in every event individually except the vault.
“A personal best is a goal, maybe a school record,” Rothmeier said.
“Somewhere in there, that’s what I’m hoping for.”
The school record is 9.45 set last year by Kyla Krause.
Team success
Medford-Colby’s score of 135.95 Saturday put the team in sixth place ahead of La Crosse Logan-Central (125.075) and Superior-Northwestern (118.65). Holmen, who was flipped back into Division 1 in a mid-season edit by the WIAA while Wisconsin Rapids was shifted to Division 2, placed fifth with 139.55 points.
Chippewa Falls (146.95) and the West Salem Co-op (140.625) got the state team berths. Hudson just missed with 140.575 points and Eau Claire Memorial-North finished fourth at 140.35. “Having the girls peak at the end of the season was a dream come true,” Brushaber said “They have just been getting stronger and to see them smile and have excitement for each other was a wonderful thing to witness. It is the best feeling as a coach to see them genuinely happy for a teammate and feel good about their own performances.” The momentum for the meet started on vault. After Rothmeier’s 9.225, Delaina Meyer placed 27th at 8.325, Shayla Radlinger and Jordyn Grant were part of a 31st-place tie at 8.2 and Veronica Mateer got an 8.0 to take 35th. It added up to a team score of 33.95, not quite Medford Colby’s best team score of the season, three-tenths off, but it was a good start. Ella Spaeth of Chippewa Falls won the sectional championship at 9.5, just ahead of Logan-Central’s Danika Parnell (9.4) and Ava Krista of Chippewa Falls (9.375). Claire Walther of Memorial North got the fourth state spot with a 9.35. Medford-Colby’s 31.725 points on the uneven bars was a season best. Meyer’s 8.075 led the Raiders and was good for 22nd place. Mateer’s 7.975 was a personal best and took 26th, Rothmeier’s 7.95 tied her best score of this season and got 27th, Radlinger’s 7.725 was a season best and placed 28th, tying teammate Bridget Cloud, who set a personal best.
Krista won the bars with a 9.475, while ahead of Spaeth (9.15) and Holmen’s Katie Lange (9.125).
“We had a day,” Rothmeier said. “All of us were PRing like crazy, tying PRs.”
After two events, with excitement building, the Raiders rocked their last events.
On the balance beam, the Raiders earned 35.55 points, two points better than their previous high for the year. Mateer and Rothmeier tied for eighth with 9.0s that weren’t too far off from qualifying for state. Hudson’s Haley Huntley got the fifth spot at 9.125. Hudson’s Julia Bounting won at 9.325. Rothmeier’s score tied her personal best. Mateer’s was a personal best.
Cloud established a new personal record with an 8.85 that placed 13th, Meyer’s 8.7 was a personal best that placed 16th and Radlinger’s 8.65 was a personal best.
“Like last year at sectionals, we had a no-fall beam competition,” Brushaber said. “The highlights for me was to see the nerves be controlled when it came time to perform. Their jump height, confidence, and the determination to fight through a bobble and finish strong was so encouraging. Shayla displayed the right amount of confidence and caution. Her flow on the beam and pace was perfect. She set up the rest of the girls to feel like they would do great. Raylin’s jumps were solid and she powered through the end to connect her dismount. Delaina showed so much confidence in her full turn. She finished her dismount by landing right on the edge of the 8-inch mat but acted like it was not a problem. She just really exemplified professionalism.
“Bridget’s routine is always one to watch,” Brushaber added. “Her pike jumps are impressive and she definitely draws attention when she is on beam because not only does she have unique choreography but a presence that demands respect. Veronica had a near perfect routine with the exception of one bobble after her series. Watching her on a beam is like watching water flow over rocks in a river. Her grace, poise, confidence, and flow of her skills is always something to admire. Beam was just overall amazing.”
Radlinger closed her high school gymnastics career with a personal-best 8.825 in the floor exercise that tied for 19th. Rothmeier tied for 21st with an 8.775, Meyer’s 8.6 was a season best and took 26th, Cloud’s 8.525 in just her third varsity floor routine of the season was a huge boost and tied for 27th while Mateer’s 8.5 in her final high school event placed 29th and was a season best.
Lange was the sectional champion with a 9.575, while Lilly Schultz (9.55) of Chippewa Falls and Krista (9.5) were second and third.
Rothmeier’s 34.95 all-around points were good for 12th place and a new personal best, just ahead of Meyer’s 33.7 total points. Mateer closed with a personal-best 33.475 points, good for 16th place, and Radlinger’s 33.4 was just 0.05 off her personal best set last year. She was 17th in the all-around standings.
Krista (37.4), Spaeth (37.275), Lange (36.1), Schultz (36.0) and Paiton Grunwald of Chippewa Falls (35.9) are the state-bound all-arounds.
“When the all-around scores are higher, it just boosts the joy amongst the team,” Brushaber said. “They deserve all the joy in the world and they are just a great group of girls. It will be a very different dynamic next year when we lose our seniors. Each one brought something special to the team.”
“We all were just going in saying ‘let’s just have fun today, there are no expectations, let’s just see how we all do and end on a good note,’’ Rothmeier said. “That’s how we were all looking at it. Let’s have fun, don’t stress about it.
We were getting very excited. Those last two events we were all hyping each other up.”
