Gymnasts nearly claim all awards in GNC’s Small Division

ALL-GNC GYMNASTICS

Clearly the deepest and most talented team in the group, the Medford Raiders nearly swept all of the individual awards for the 2020-21 All-Great Northern Conference team for the league’s Small Division.

Of 15 spots on the All-GNC Small first and second teams and the honorable mention list, Medford claimed 13 of them with the team’s performances at the conference meet, which Medford hosted on the weekend of Feb. 12-13.

In Small Division competition Feb. 13, the Raiders won each event and junior Makala Ulrich set a school record with 34.85 all-around points. That total gave her the Gymnast of the Year award for the Small Division. Ulrich also earned first-team All-GNC Small Division honors by winning the uneven bars competition with an 8.5. Ulrich and sophomore teammate Kate Malchow tied for first place on the balance beam with 8.6s, so both earned first-team honors in that event.

Sophomore Anna Wanke got the firstteam spot in the floor exercise with her winning score of 8.95. Freshman Kyla Krause tied Chequamegon senior Kristina Peterson with a 9.0 on vault, so both earned first-team awards there.

With the two first-place ties, just three second-team awards were presented. Ulrich got one with an 8.9 on the floor, while Wanke got two of them thanks to an 8.425 on the bars and 33.625 all-around points in the meet.

Medford got four of the five honorable mention spots. Ulrich took third on vault with an 8.85, Malchow was third on the bars with her 8.275 and Krause was third on the balance beam with an 8.2 and third in the all-around competition with 33.3 total points. Mosinee’s Avery Ahles got the third-place spot on the floor with an 8.575.

Medford scored a season-high 134.9 team points to claim its third straight Small Division title and fourth championship in five seasons under head coach Steve Cain. The score was just 0.001 points shy of the program’s school record, set last March at the WIAA Division 2 state championships.

The Raiders went 4-0 in Small Division duals and 5-0 overall, also beating Wisconsin Rapids in the season-opening GNC crossover. In fact, Medford outscored all of the GNC Large Division schools during the conference meet. The Large schools competed Feb. 12 with Marshfield taking the team title by scoring 133.925 points. The Tigers edged Stevens Point, who scored 132.45 points. Katelyn Trowbridge of Stevens Point earned Gymnast of the Year honors in the Large Division by scoring 35.025 all-around points. She won the beam (8.575) and bars (8.85). Ashland’s Catie McPherson won the floor competition (9.0) and Tyla Weidman of Wisconsin Rapids won the vault (8.95).

Medford went on to win its second straight WIAA Division 2 sectional championship by scoring 132.85 points in the meet held at Rhinelander on Feb. 18. In its third straight state appearance, Medford scored 134.75 points to place sixth out of eight teams at Performance Elite Gymnastics in La Crosse.

The Raiders lose just one senior to graduation, Megan Wanke, and should remain a gymnastics force in GNC competition next winter.