Gymnasts shoot for ‘Spectacular’ results in their annual home event

2022 RAINBOW GYMNASTICS SPECTACULAR

Medford’s Rainbow Gymnastics Club had a successful Saturday during its Rainbow Spectacular meet, winning two team championships and getting 11 first-place all-around finishes from individual gymnasts.

The meet, which returned to Medford Area Elementary School after one year at the Simek Recreation Center, featured 134 youth gymnasts of all ages from seven clubs, including Hub City of Marshfield, Bay Area of Ashland, Gymsport of the Wausau area, Antigo, the Phoenix Club of Bloomer and the Eau Claire YMCA.

Competition was held throughout the day in four different sessions.

Some of Rainbow’s youngest gymnasts earned the biggest awards in Level 2 competition Saturday evening. Rainbow won the team championship with 111 points, outscoring Hub City (109.45) and Bay Area (104.45) and four gymnasts won their age group competitions.

Emeri Desotelle had the top total among seven 9-yearolds with an all-around score of 36.55, Brielle Goll was second at 36.45 and Lillian Nemitz-Coleman was fourth with 34.4 points. Desotelle had the top scores on vault (9.4), the floor exercise (9.35) and the balance beam (8.8) while tying for second on the uneven bars at 9.0. Goll won the bars with her 9.4 and placed second on vault (9.3) and floor (9.15). She got an 8.6 on beam. Nemitz-Coleman tied Desotelle’s 9.0 on bars, tied for fourth on beam (8.6), tied for fifth on vault (9.0) and got a 7.8 on the floor.

Lena Schug and Tinley Hamm had the top two allaround scores in the 8A age group at 36.25 and 35.0. Hamm won the bars with an 8.75, while Schug took the floor (9.35) and beam (9.2) titles while tying Bay Area’s Rose Matthias for first on the vault with her 9.1. She was third on bars with an 8.6. Hamm added second-place scores of 8.7 on beam and 8.55 on the floor while tying for third on vault with a 9.0.

Kree Doriot and Aurelia Brushaber were the top two scorers in the 8B age group with totals of 36.6 and 36.0 points. They tied for first on the vault with 9.3s. Doriot’s 9.3 on bars and 9.2 on floor won those events, while she was second on beam at 8.8. Brushaber won the beam at 9.05, took second on floor with her 9.0 and was fourth out of six gymnasts on the bars with an 8.65.

Of seven gymnasts in the 10-12 age group, Rainbow’s Adalyn Foster was the champion with 36.35 all-around points, while Mady Dirkes was sixth with 35.05. Foster tied Hub City’s Allis Herrin for first on beam with a 9.0 and tied Hub City’s Brynlie Bremer for second on bars at 9.15. She was third on floor with an 9.0 and tied Bay Area’s Brooklyn Senske for third on vault with a 9.3.

Dirkes had scores of 9.0 on vault, 8.95 on floor, 8.6 on bars and 8.5 on beam.

A trio of Rainbow’s older gymnasts teamed up to win the Level 7 championship with 98.2 points. Veronica Mateer was the top gymnast out of seven with 35.5 all-around points, including a winning score of 8.65 on bars and a 9.4 on vault that tied for first with Bay Area’s Leanna Lipske. Delaina Meyer was third with 35.3 points, including a winning 9.5 on floor. Sadie Moore won the beam with an 8.7 and was seventh overall with 27.4 points. She did not compete on bars. Moore was third on floor with a 9.4, while Mateer was fourth (9.25). Meyer tied for third on beam with an 8.4, while Mateer was fifth at 8.2. Moore got a 9.3 on vault and Meyer got a 9.2. Meyer added an 8.2 on bars.

Rainbow Gymnastics placed third out of five teams in Level 3 competition. Hub City won that with 110.15 points, followed by Gymsport (108.35), Rainbow (107.95), the Eau Claire YMCA (105.2) and Bay Area (103.6).

Jordyn Grant led seven competitors, including three from Rainbow in the age 12 group. Grant’s 36.25 points including a winning score of 9.5 on vault, seconds on beam (9.3) and bars (8.75) and third on floor (8.7). Audrey Hueckman was right behind Grant with 35.7 points, including first place on the beam with a 9.35. She added a 9.2 on vault, an 8.65 on floor and an 8.5 on bars. Rylee Hartwig’s sixth-place total of 34.55 included a 9.3 on vault, an 8.9 on beam, an 8.2 on bars and an 8.15 on floor.

Brooke Buechel was the 11-year-old champion with 35.7 points, beating five other competitors. She won the floor (8.9) and bars (8.7), tied for second on beam (8.7) and tied for second on vault (9.4). Ruby Holtman was fifth in the 8-9 age group earning an 8.4 on beam and an 8.35 on bars.

Rainbow’s two Level 4 gymnasts both won their age groups. Mackinley Mueller won the 8-9 group with 34.3 points, topping a field of four entrants. She won the bars (8.25), tied for second on beam (8.55) and vault (9.1) and took third on the floor (8.4). Lindsey Kauffman had the top score among three girls ages 13-16 with 35.4 allaround points. She won the beam (9.0) and floor (8.9) and was second on vault (9.2) and bars (8.3).

Raylin Rothmeier earned 35.9 points to be the top gymnast out of six in Level 6’s 11-12 age group, including a win on the balance beam with a 9.15. She added a second-place 8.9 on floor, a third-place 8.65 on bars and a fourth-place 9.2 on vault. Finley Arndt won the beam (9.3) and bars (9.05) while finishing fourth among 13-17-year-olds. She tied for second on vault with a 9.3.

Kyla Krause was another of Rainbow’s champions. The only gymnast in Open Optional competition, the Medford Area Senior High sophomore scored 34.5 all-around points with a 9.0 on bars, an 8.6 on vault and 8.45s on beam and floor.

Medford had one other team entry. The Xcel Silver group took second behind Phoenix (110.05) with 107.05 points. For ages 11-13, Aliyah Galan (35.85) was second, Alyssa Doriot (34.9) was fourth and Olivia Johnson (34.0) was fifth. Galan won the bars at 9.1 and added scores of 9.3 on vault, 9.0 on floor and 8.45 on beam. Doriot was second on vault with a 9.4 and added scores of 8.7 on bars and 8.4 on beam and floor. Johnson won the vault at 9.5 and added an 8.6 on beam, an 8.2 on floor and a 7.7 on bars.

For ages 8-10, Lydia Schaefer (35.05), Chloe Cahoon (34.15) and Brynlee Pagel (33.2) were fourth, fifth and sixth. Cahoon won the vault with a 9.3 and added 8.3s on bars and beam and an 8.25 on floor. Schaefer had 9.1s on vault and beam, an 8.75 on floor and an 8.1 on bars. Pagel had an 8.9 on vault, an 8.85 on floor, an 8.0 on beam and a 7.45 on bars.

Shayla Radlinger was third out of five gymnasts in Level 8 with 33.0 all-around points, including a second-place 8.3 on bars, a third-place 8.0 on beam, a fourthplace 8.4 on vault and a fourth-place 8.3 on floor. Avery Losiewicz earned 33.95 points in Xcel Platinum competition to place third out of three gymnasts. She was second on floor with an 8.8 and added a 9.0 on vault, an 8.45 on bars and a 7.7 on beam. Sophie Koester was fifth among gymnasts ages 12-16 in Xcel Gold competition. Her 8.9 on vault, 8.5s on beam and bars and 8.0 on floor added up to an allaround score of 33.9.

Brielle Goll spins around the low bar while earning a first-place score of 9.4 in her Level 2 competition.

Above: Olivia Johnson sticks the landing on this vault attempt. She got first place in the event with a 9.5 in Xcel Silver competition. Right: Brynlee Pagel dismounts off the balance beam to finish a routine that earns an 8.0 from the judge.

PHOTOS BY MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS

Emeri Desotelle ends her Level 2 floor routine in a bridge position. She earned first place in the event with a 9.35.