Dec. 7 MEDFORD INVITE, 9 a.m. Dec. 14 @ Rhinelander Invitational, 10:30 a.m. Dec. 19 @ Marshfield, 5:45 p.m. Jan. 16 CHEQUAMEGON, 5:45 p.m. Jan. 21 MOSINEE, 5:45 p.m. Jan. 25 @ Valders-Roncalli Invite, 10:30 a.m. Feb. 1 @ Antigo Invite, 10 a.m. Feb. 6 LAKELAND, 5:45 p.m. Feb. 11 @ Rhinelander, 5:45 p.m. Feb. 15 @ Ashland Invitational, 10:15 a.m. Feb. 22 GNC @ Chequamegon, 10 a.m. Feb. 28 Antigo sectional, 5 p.m. March 6 WIAA team state,1 p.m. March 7 WIAA indiv. state, 10:30 a.m.

MEDFORD GYMNASTICS

Dec. 7 MEDFORD INVITE, 9 a.m. Dec. 14 @ Rhinelander Invitational, 10:30 a.m. Dec. 19 @ Marshfield, 5:45 p.m. Jan. 16 CHEQUAMEGON, 5:45 p.m. Jan. 21 MOSINEE, 5:45 p.m. Jan. 25 @ Valders-Roncalli Invite, 10:30 a.m. Feb. 1 @ Antigo Invite, 10 a.m. Feb. 6 LAKELAND, 5:45 p.m. Feb. 11 @ Rhinelander, 5:45 p.m. Feb. 15 @ Ashland Invitational, 10:15 a.m. Feb. 22 GNC @ Chequamegon, 10 a.m. Feb. 28 Antigo sectional, 5 p.m. March 6 WIAA team state,1 p.m. March 7 WIAA indiv. state, 10:30 a.m.

standings.

Bilz later finished 11th in the state bars competition and 14th among Division 2 state all-arounds. Ulrich, unfortunately, saw her season end following the sectional meet, but has bounced back quite well after off-season knee and shoulder surgeries. She set a new school record score of 9.2 on vault last

LOOKS FAMILIAR

January at Antigo.

As it stands now, the gymnastics schedule is exactly the same as it started last year, other than sites being flipped on most GNC Small Division duals. The second annual Hot Cocoa Invitational starts the year Dec. 7 at Medford Area Elementary School with four teams currently scheduled to join the host Raiders. Chequamegon High School hosts this year’s GNC meet on Feb. 22 and Antigo is again the site for sectional competition on Feb. 28. State meet times have been moved up an hour this year.

Kara Hudak returns as the team’s lone senior. She competed at team state on the bars and served as an all-around for the team in several meets. Junior Lydia Sigmund is also back after her year ended in late December due to injury.

“The girls that are re- turning, Kara, Lydia, Brooklyn, Makala, they definitely have a new spirit to them, a new maturity for the sport, for the team, for themselves as far as what they want to accomplish,” Cain said. “That’s been exciting to see. I think what helps too is most of these kids help coach kids in club. It’s like they get it. They understand what I as a coach, am trying to accomplish and what I’m trying to get them to achieve.”

Cain said the Raiders will start slowly with Ulrich, but her “slow” still should allow her to score well against her peers in the early going.

“She’s got the full go-ahead from the doctors and she is performing skills right now that I’m pretty amazed at, which means she’s on track,” Cain said. “We’re not going to throw her into a lot of twisting skills at the beginning of the season. We’ll see how it goes. I don’t want to take any chances with her. But that kid can take the most basic skills and perform a routine that is spot-on and has beautiful form and that’s all she needs. She just needs to connect everything. She can do that and she’ll be great.”

Unfortunately, the injury luck might not be so good for junior Megan Wanke, who competed well for Medford at state in three team events and individually on the balance beam. Right now, Cain said, it’s not known if she’ll be able to return.

Katelyn Malchow, the team’s lone Gilman representative, Kennedy Bilz, the Colby rep, Avery Purdy, Anna Wanke, Brooke Wegerer, Kiarah Behling and Kylie Vasicek are among the freshmen who put a lot of time into the sport in youth club competition. Those additions are going to make filling out a varsity lineup quite challenging for Cain and assistant coach Marisa DuBois.

“We have plenty of varsity spots filled and beyond,” Cain said. “It’s going to be tough figuring out that lineup. It’s going to be a good tough.”

Sophomore newcomers to the sport include Kadia Gehrke, Jessalyn Holub, Olivia Krug, Abbi Potocnik and Alicia Jochimsen.

“We have a very diverse team this year,” Cain said. “A lot of new faces, a lot of interest in the sport, a lot of excitement for it.”

The added depth certainly means there are more routines to create, build and refine as the season goes on. Cain said the coaches around the state have been getting the message that judges may be looking for things to be more precise this season.

“Things are becoming tighter,” he said. “There’s just more of an awareness of the technical aspect of the sport. You just can’t go on the bar and just do a clear hip circle. It has to be a clear hip circle with some amplitude. It has to have some dynamics to it that resonate and are profound. It’s got to be big. They’re looking for degrees. There’s deductions for this many degrees, this many degrees. Judges always have done that, but this year they’re putting it out there that this is what we need to see. I think it’s because of the fact that so many girls are coming into high school from club programs for so many years that they’re looking at that like there’s no reason why