MEDFORD-COLBYGYMNASTICS - TIME FOR THE FEBRUARY PUSH

MEDFORD-COLBY GYMNASTICS

Left: Senior Shayla Radlinger leaps into her vault routine at the start of Thursday’s Senior Night meet against Wisconsin Rapids. Radlinger earned an 8.1 on the better of her two vaults and tied for sixth place. Right: Bridget Cloud is steady and confident during her balance beam routine that earned a score of 8.05 and tied her for third place with Radlinger.

February’s arrival means it’s time to shine and the Medford-Colby gymnastics team took a step in that direction Thursday while defeating Wisconsin Rapids 129.35-127.025 on Senior Night at Medford Area Elementary School.

Raylin Rothmeier was the Raiders’ lone individual winner, taking the vault with a score of 8.75, but solid efforts throughout the lineup produced enough good scores and places for the team to outscore the Red Raiders.

The results left Rapids, Medford-Colby and Marshfield all tied at 1-2 in the GNC Large Division. At 3-0, Stevens Point just needs to avoid finishing last at the Feb. 22 GNC championship meet it hosts to earn at least a share of the Large Division title. All of the dual meets in the division were close, creating the belief that anything could happen at the conference meet.

“We have a deep bench, as they say in other sports,” Medford-Colby head coach Andrée Brushaber said. “We have girls climbing and growing together which reflects in the scores. We have girls that are so close in scores that they could easily be varsity. It truly was a team effort and a team win. That is the best feeling when the whole team just gives their best and consoles those who feel like they faltered.”

“I think we were very cheerful and we really helped boost each other’s moods and never stopped cheering,” said Shayla Radlinger, one of the four seniors recognized in Thursday’s festivities.

“I think overall it was a pretty good meet for everyone,” said Veronica Mateer, another senior.

The team score rebounded after dipping into the 126 range the past two meets. The Raiders outscored Rapids in all four varsity events. They felt the floor exercise, where they held a slim 33.7533.7 scoring edge was their best event of the night. The routines on the uneven bars were improved, the vault was solid as usual and there were minimal falls on the balance beam.

On the floor, Rothmeier and Radlinger tied for third with 8.65s, trailing Sophie Hasenohrl (8.9) and Elsa Urban (8.75) of Rapids. Delaina Meyer was sixth with an 8.35, one-tenth off her season-best, Mateer was seventh at 8.1 and Brooke Buechel was 10th at 7.35.

“Shayla went out there and was so focused,” Brushaber said. “She demonstrated leadership throughout the meet but especially on floor and bars. She was ready to go and put forth 100%. Delaina and Raylin went out and nailed their routines with control and beauty. Brooke landed another solid performance with clean clines and height in her saltos. Veronica closed that event strong with speed, intention, and does so with everyone watching. They just showcased what they are capable of.”

Rothmeier won the vault by a 0.45point margin over Kerrie Aumann of Rapids. Meyer tied Urban for third at 8.25, Radlinger tied Olivia Oleson for sixth with her 8.1, Jordyn Grant had a solid vault that earned an 8.05, good for eighth, and Mateer just wasn’t able to stick her landings and got a 7.65 on her best vault.

The Raiders had a 33.15-32.85 team scoring edge on vault.

Urban won the bars with an 8.2, but Medford-Colby claimed five of the next six spots. Their 30.15-28.925 advantage in the event was crucial in the team win.

Meyer took second with an 8.0, Rothmeier and Radlinger were next with a 7.6 and a 7.4. Bridget Cloud was sixth with a personal-best 7.15 and Mateer was seventh at 6.85.

Cloud, who is working her way back from an ankle injury, tied Radlinger for third on the balance beam as they got 8.05s. Urban won with an 8.625, with Rothmeier placing second by earning a strong 8.25.

“Bridget is so selfless and humble,” Brushaber said. “She truly is so hard on herself, like many of the girls are. She was not sure if she was ‘good enough’ to go back to varsity beam yet and perhaps, she just compete junior varsity. I told her that I knew she was a solid choice for beam if she felt ready to compete on beam and to take the shot. She was a little apprehensive about it, but I knew she would come through strong. When you watch her on beam, you know beam and her are friends. She ended up being our second highest scorer on beam and scored a personal record on bars. She had a great night.”

Meyer was fifth with a 7.95 and Mateer was eighth at 7.5. Medford-Colby outscored Wisconsin Rapids in the event 32.3-31.55.

In the all-around competition, Urban took first with 33.85 total points. Rothmeier had her second-best total of the season with 33.25 points, Meyer was third (32.55), Radlinger was fourth (32.2) and Mateer was sixth (30.1).

With Rapids only having four entries, Medford-Colby easily won the JV meet 110.6-26.9. The meet included one routine each from two more Raider seniors, Bethany Jokiel, who took sixth on the floor with a 6.4, and Camille Boutier-Dache, who was seventh on the beam, improving by sixth-tenths to a 4.8.

“We have a unique situation with the four seniors that we have,” Brushaber said. “We have two that have made gymnastics a core part of their daily lives from a competition standpoint in Shayla and Veronica. We have Bethany who started out in the club and then pulled away from high school competition to focus on school because of all the harder classes she had scheduled and coaching at Rainbow. Then we have our foreign exchange student, Camille who only had a little experience in gymnastics from when she was very little. I think it is a lot like last year where different personalities strengthen us and create a solid foundation for all of the other teammates to rely on. We have strong, graceful, funny, witty, quiet, bold, and caring young women that represent our school well.”

Freshman Rylee Hartwig (27.4) and sophomore Lindsey Kauffman (27.2) had a close all-around competition in the JV meet. Hartwig won the vault (7.8), followed by Buechel (7.4), Kate Gierl (6.9), Ada Freiberg (6.8) and Kauffman (6.7). Kauffman won the floor exercise with her 7.6 that was one-tenth off her season-best and one-tenth ahead of Grant. Hadalye Ziehlke was fourth at 7.0, followed by Hartwig (6.6) and Jokiel.

Grant won the other two events. She got a 6.3 on bars, followed by Buechel’s 6.1, Hartwig’s 6.0 and Kauffman’s 5.5. On the beam, Grant’s 7.5 was a new season-best and one-tenth ahead of Kauffman. Buechel (7.2) and Hartwig (7.0) were third and fourth.

Next up for Medford is Saturday’s Ashland Co-op Valentine Invitational, a meet the Raiders have done quite well at in recent years. After that, it’s conference and the WIAA Division 1 sectional meet at West Salem on March 1.

“I feel like we are hitting our peak right now, which is good,” Radlinger said. “We’re on an uphill climb.”

“We’re doing so at the right time heading into the bigger meets,” Mateer said.

“We didn’t hit it too early. I think we’re still climbing to get that, which is good,” Radlinger added.

“I feel good about the opportunity we have in Ashland to get more feedback and showcase the girls’ hard work,” Brushaber said. “I think the girls will finish even stronger than where they are now as individuals. I also feel like the pressure is off from a conference standpoint, so they will enjoy themselves more. What is really awesome is they score better when they enjoy the process. Being in Division 1, it will be hard to compete with those larger schools at sectionals, but I know they have it in them to fine-tune things individually. They just need to get picky and utilize every minute they have in the gym.”