MEDFORD-COLBYGYMNASTICS - Gymnasts are a solid 3rd at River Falls; fall to Point in GNC

MEDFORD-COLBY GYMNASTICS

The Medford-Colby gymnastics squad posted its best team score of the season on the balance beam and came close in the other three events while posting a seasonbest overall score of 131.175 at Saturday’s Winter Wonderland Invitational hosted by River Falls.

That was good for a third-place finish out of 10 teams the Raiders don’t typically see otherwise in the regular season. The host Wildcats won the meet, barely squeaking past their neighboring rival Hudson, 135.25-135.175. Medford-Colby got by fourth-place Chisago Lakes, Minn. (129.675) and the rest of the field was well behind the Raiders.

“It was a reflection of our depth that I talked about earlier in the season,” Medford-Colby head coach Andrée Brushaber said. “The scoring was a shock for some because I personally felt their routines and skills were polished more than previous meets. They pulled together and that was very rewarding to see as a coach, indeed. It was a nice change to go against different teams. It is a great motivator moving forward.”

In their fourth meet of the season, the Raiders got a personal-best all-around outing from junior Delaina Meyer, who placed eighth in that competition with 33.325 total points. Senior Shayla Radlinger also had her best all-around day of this season at 32.475 total points, good for 13th place, while sophomore Raylin Rothmeier was 11th with 32.825. Senior Veronica Mateer added 31.45 total points, her top total of the season and good for 17th place.

“Delaina has always been a polished gymnast,” Brushaber said. “Megan (Yanko), myself, and Steve (Cain) have always said how you practice usually reflects your performance at a meet. There are other variations of that saying, but basically, if you get up there for another routine, do drills, repeat a skill that is less than solid, it will pay off in time. She had a new personal record on beam and tenths away from a PR on vault and floor. This combined for a PR on all-around. Shayla was tenths away from a PR on beam and floor. She was so powerful and clean with her routine on floor. It was exciting to watch and see how it unfolded into the team score. Veronica had a PR on bars and was tenths away from her PR on beam, and floor. She is so graceful, strong, and keeps striving to be better.”

Mateer had Medford-Colby’s top individual event finish of the day, reaching the awards podium with an eighth-place tie on the balance beam. Her 8.45 was easily her best score of the season and led Medford’s team total of 33.4, a seasonbest by 0.05 points.

“I’m very excited for Veronica,” Brushaber said. “She did, after all, go to state for beam last year, so it was not a surprise. She works hard and it shows. It was very close to her PR on beam which is exciting.”

Meyer tied for 10th with her 8.425, Rothmeier placed 13th at 8.275, Radlinger was 14th at 8.25 and senior Bethany Jokiel got a 6.3 for her first varsity beam routine. Chelsea Stipe of Chisago Lakes was the beam champion with a score of 9.125.

Medford-Colby scored 33.7 vault points, led by Meyer’s 8.55, which tied for 10th place. Freshman Jordyn Grant continued to improve, tying for 12th with her season-best varsity score of 8.5. Rothmeier was 15th at 8.4, Radlinger tied for 19th at 8.25 and Mateer earned a 7.4. Stipe and Celina Hess of Bloomer-Colfax had the top vault scores with 9.25s.

“Jordyn is very strong on vault and she has untapped potential lurking in her,” Brushaber said. “She is always willing to step up, she is very team oriented and a great person. She is so powerful but has grace to her as well. It is hard to be a freshmen and step into a varsity spot. Bridget (Cloud) getting hurt allowed Jordyn an opportunity to prove to herself that she can score well on varsity. Being on varsity has not changed her one bit. She is still the same respectful, kind, and thoughtful young lady.”

On the uneven bars, the Raiders’ total of 30.9 points was 0.275 off their seasonbest. Meyer and Rothmeier made the top 10, tying for the last spot with 7.95s. That tied Rothmeier’s best score so far this winter. Radlinger’s 7.7 tied her seasonbest and put her in 15th place. Mateer’s 7.3 was her season-best and was good for 22nd. Grant got a 6.425 in her first varsity routine on bars.

Michaela Osland of Centennial, Minn. won the bars with a 9.025.

Medford-Colby was in the 33s for the third straight meet in the floor exercise, totaling 33.175 points. Meyer led the way with an 8.4 that was good for 12th place. Mateer tied for 14th at 8.3, a season-best, Radlinger was 17th at 8.275, Rothmeier tied for 18th at 8.2 and freshman Brooke Buechel got a 7.7 in her first varsity event. The meet’s all-around champion with 35.725 points, Ruby Amundson of River Falls won the floor at 9.175.

“Brooke was excited to perform,” Brushaber said. “She really floats in the air on her tumbling. She has clean lines and pep in her step. It was a great performance. Floor routines are progressing but I know some of our girls have more in the tank yet. I am optimistic that some of the girls push themselves to the next level in tumbling.”

Next up for Medford-Colby is a key GNC Large Division dual meet at Marshfield today, Thursday, at 5:45 p.m. Both teams come in 0-1 the division with two duals to go. The Raiders head to the Eau Claire Memorial-North Invitational Saturday, where they will see the host team, as well as the La Crosse Logan-Central, Marshfield and Sun Prairie West-East. Competition starts at 11 a.m. at Memorial.

GNC loss to Point

Medford-Colby began Great Northern Conference competition for the year in the Large Division on Jan. 7, falling short in a home dual meet with Stevens Point 132.225-128.075.

Rothmeier had her best scoring meet as a high school gymnast, winning the allaround competition with 34.175 total points. She won the balance beam and the vault and took second in the floor exercise.

The team event scores were extremely close in each event, but the uneven bars, where Point outscored Medford-Colby 32.45-29.45 to create most of its separation in the final score.

Rothmeier’s 9.0 on the beam was a personal-best score, beating her 8.95 from last season. She beat Point’s top allaround, Nora Wroblewski, by 0.75 points to win it with her well-constructed routine. Radlinger tied Panther Riley Mueller for fifth place at 8.05 and Mateer was seventh at 7.9, Meyer was ninth at 7.25 and Grant was 10th with a 6.55 in her first varsity beam routine. Medford-Colby scored 32.2 points on the beam, a halfpoint fewer than the Panthers.

The floor exercise was the Raiders’ top event of the night. Rothmeier’s 8.775 was another personal best and put her just 0.125 points behind Wroblewski. Radlinger was just behind Rothmeier with a third-place score of 8.75. Meyer was fifth at 8.45, Mateer tied for eighth at 7.6 and Jokiel got her first chance to compete in a varsity event, earning a 6.875. The Raiders totaled 33.575 points on the floor, while Stevens Point earned 34.075.

Rothmeier tumbled to the floor on the landing of her first vault attempt, but she stuck the second one for an 8.75 that beat Wroblewski by three-tenths. Meyer was fifth with an 8.15, Grant was sixth with a solid 8.1 and Radlinger and Mateer were ninth and 10th at 7.85 and 7.7. At 32.85 points, Medford-Colby was outscored by just 0.15 points on vault.

Meyer was Medford-Colby’s leader on the uneven bars with a fourth-place score of 7.9. Rothmeier (7.65), Radlinger (7.15), Mateer (6.75) and Lindsey Kauffman (5.45) were seventh through 10th. Point’s Chloe Mueller won with a strong score of 8.525.

Radlinger (31.8), Meyer (31.75) and Mateer (29.95) were fourth through sixth in the all-around standings for the Raiders, who were without injured junior Bridget Cloud. Wroblewski (33.325) and Mueller (32.825) were second and third for Stevens Point, who improved to 2-0 in the division Monday with a 132.525129.325 win over Wisconsin Rapids.

The Raiders’ depth showed at the JV level, where they won easily 104.35-57.35.

The balance beam was a big event for the Raiders. Kauffman bumped up two full points from her last performance Dec. 7 and won it with an 8.0. Rylee Hartwig went up a full point to a 7.6 to take second. Evie Beidel got a third-place score of 6.4 in her first beam routine, Brooke Buechel tied for fourth at 6.3 and Jokiel was sixth at 6.2.

Buechel took third on the floor with her 7.15. Grant (6.85), Hartwig (6.6) and Hadalye Ziehlke (6.3) were fourth through sixth and all improved their scores from a month earlier.

Ziehlke got an 8.0 while entering the vault for the first time. That was good for second place. Buechel tied for third at 7.85, Hartwig was fifth at 7.8, Kauffman tied for sixth at 7.2 and Beidel was eighth at 7.05. On the bars, Grant improved by eight-tenths while placing fourth with a 6.5. Buechel went up a tenth to 6.1 and Hartwig was sixth at 5.7. Hartwig (27.7) and Buechel (27.4) placed second and third as all-arounds, just behind Point’s Cali Christopherson (28.35).

Bethany Jokiel tumbles through her floor routine during Medford-Colby’s home meet with Stevens Point. MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS