WIAA Division 2 state gymnastics preview

What: The 54th WIAA state gymnastics championships.

Where: Lincoln High School, Wisconsin Rapids.

When: The team meet is Friday, March 1 at noon. The individual meet is Saturday, March 2 at 10 a.m.

Who: The Medford program has qualified for state team competition for the sixth straight year and has won its sectional for the fifth straight season. This year’s team is a co-op with Colby.

In last year’s Division 2 meet, the Raiders finished seventh out of 10 teams with a team score of 135.2167.

Division 2 team qualifiers: Sectional champions and their sectional team scores include the West Salem Co-op (142.525), Elkhorn (140.6), West Bend West (136.8), the Dodgeville Co-op (136.275) and Medford-Colby (135.5). Sectional runners-up and their sectional team scores include Mount Horeb (137.9), the Onalaska-Luther Co-op (137.275), Reedsburg (135.2), Whitefish Bay (134.5) and the Ashland Co-op (124.35).

Whitefish Bay had won five straight titles before not qualifying last year. Nicolet won last year’s title with a team score of 142.75 but did not qualify this year after placing third in the Whitefish Bay sectional. The West Salem Co-op placed second last year with a team score of 138. Elkhorn was third with 137.9167 points, Mount Horeb was fourth last year with 136.05 team points and West Bend West was fifth with 135.6667. Reedsburg (132.6167) was eighth and Ashland was 10th (129.9333).

Individual qualifiers are the top five finishers in each event and top five allaround gymnasts from each of the five sectionals.

Division 2 notebook (compiled by the WIAA): There are two returning event champions from the state championships last season seeking a repeat title this year. Junior Abby Roecker of Waupun is the top returning gymnast in the all-around after finishing runner-up last year and fourth in 2022. She will be among the leading candidates to win the event this year as will junior Kaylee Frank of Elkhorn, who was third a year ago. Junior Avery Ash of Rice Lake and junior Isabell Korn of the Westby Co-op are also back after placing fifth and sixth last year, respectively.

Roecker is one of the two returning champions. She is back in the balance beam after earning the crown last year and placing third in 2022. Among the experienced returning competitors in the balance beam are Ash, who was runnerup to Roecker last year, and senior Ryann Wesley of Whitefish Bay, who was third last season and fourth in 2022. Senior Melanie Princl of West Bend West also earned a spot on the award stand last year with a sixth-place finish. Champions at sectionals last weekend, which weren’t referenced earlier, who may contend for a title in the balance beam are junior Kate Krauklis of Elkhorn and freshman Raylin Rothmeier of Medford-Colby.

Ash is the other returning champion, earning glory last season in the vault after tying for third place in 2022. Among the experienced gymnasts expected to challenge Ash are senior Ezzy Mauermann of Nicolet, who finished third last season and tied for sixth in 2022; senior Madilyn Fisher of Prairie du Chien-Fennimore, who tied for fourth in 2023 and was third in 2022; senior Morgan Siekert of the West Salem Co-op, who tied Fisher for fourth last year and was fifth in 2022; and senior Emily Cracker of Reedsburg, who was sixth. Sectional champions with their sights on contending for a title in the vault are senior Olivia Price of Bloomer-Colfax and Frank.

Frank should also be considered a contender in the floor exercise as the top returning medalist in the event after last season’s runner-up finish. Others with state experience that may challenge her for the title are Frank’s senior teammate Jenna Heindselman, who placed fifth in 2023, and Princl, who was sixth. Seniors Kyla Krause of Medford-Colby, Makayla Cibulka of West Bend West and Siekert are qualifiers who won their sectionals and could be among the leaders in the floor standings.

Frank is the highest ranking finisher in the uneven bars returning from the 2023 state championships with a runner-up performance. Cracker finished third after she was runner-up in 2022. Other possible contenders for the crown in the uneven bars are sophomore Gabrielle Bjorkman of Sparta, Cibulka, Korn and Krause based on their sectional championship last weekend.

The schedule: There will be 10 rounds of competition during Friday’s team competition. Medford-Colby will compete on the balance beam in round two, the floor exercise in round five, the vault in round eight and the uneven bars in round 10.

There will be five rounds of individual competition Saturday. Medford-Colby’s individual all-arounds, Krause and Rothmeier, will compete on vault in round one, bars in round two, beam in round three and on floor in round four. Raiders Veronica Mateer and Bridget Cloud will join them on beam in round three.

––Sports Editor Matt Frey