Comeback juniors lead Franklin/Muskego
The WIAA state gymnastics meet will take place Friday and Saturday at Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High School. Seven Milwaukee area teams and 13 all-around qualifiers will be vying for state titles after their qualifying performances in sectional events held across the state last week.
Here are a couple storylines and individuals to watch at the state meet. A full list of qualifiers is on the WIAA website.
Franklin/Muskego led by juniors who nearly quit for good
Franklin/Muskego coach Katie Moore has led teams to nine WIAA Division 1 state titles since 2011, including a stretch of eight in nine years with a co-op of Franklin/Muskego/Oak Creek/Whitnall. After a WIAA rule change limited co-ops to two schools based on enrollment, the aforementioned F/M/O/W co-op remained together and won its sectional for two seasons despite being ineligible for state. Moore said her athletes convinced her to split the co-op to maintain eligibility for state.
Fielding two lineups however has required an influx of talent, which Franklin/ Muskego has found in two juniors who nearly quit the sport for good after participating in club gymnastics their freshman season.
Kaylee Stoeger leads the defending D1 state champions back to state this year as one of two all-around individual qualifiers, along with freshman Grace Hilber. Stoeger sustained an injury to her elbow while vaulting her freshman year, and thought she would never compete again after a recovery of more than three months.
“Coming back after injury is super hard, and trying to compete at level 10 adds more stress on to it,” Stoeger said. “It was too much for me, and I decided to put my mental health first.”
Moore admits she “scours” the local club gymnastics scene for potentially available talent, and Stoeger’s name was one she came across in that search. The coach believes in the old-school approach of a handwritten letter in recruiting, or in some cases, multiple letters. Stoeger, who was working as an instructor to kids, noticed correspondence from Moore in her mailbox on more than one occasion.
“I kept getting letters from Katie in the sports administrative office and finally came to watch a practice,” Stoeger said, adding the experience made her realize the love she still had for the sport. “I can’t just not do anything in the gym, I needed to do it.”
Junior Ellie Johnson was burned out after years of competing on the club end as well after her freshman year, but missed some of the camaraderie the sport can provide. She answered Moore’s outreach with a request to be the team manager her sophomore year, but Moore sensed a desire to do more.
“I’m thinking ‘You’re not going to be my manager,’ but ‘Sure, yeah come on in, you can be part of the team in any way you want,’ ” Moore said.
A month later, Johnson began working her way back into the sport by participating on balance beam, which she went on to place fifth in last year at state. Last week at the Mukwonago sectional, she won the beam and vault events while finishing second in the uneven bars to Stoeger.
“What really makes me feel good is that they’re both having fun and feeling good about themselves, and finding success and enjoying gymnastics again,” Moore said.
For two leaders of the latest Franklin/ Muskego gymnastics title defense, being part of a team has made all the difference in finding that spark to compete again.
“It’s really exciting knowing that I get to do this with the team too and not just myself. Every score that I get and how hard I try goes towards the team,” Johnson said.
Individual all-around qualifiers include Pokorny, Kenney
Homestead senior Maggie Pokorny finished second in the all-around to state champion Annika Rufenacht of Verona/ Edgewood last year, while also winning the uneven bars event. Pokorny dominated the Manitowoc sectional last week, winning all four events to compile an allaround score of 37.30.
Senior Clara Kenney of Hartford will also return to state after finishing fifth in the all-around last year. At the Hartford sectional on Saturday, Kenney (36.175) narrowly beat freshman teammate Mackenzie Gruszynski (35.825) for the top allaround score.
Seven area teams look to make program history
Along with Franklin/Muskego, six other area teams will compete this weekend, including D1 programs: Arrowhead, Hartford, Homestead and Menomonee Falls/ Germantown.
Arrowhead finished third last year, and is looking for its first team title since 2015. Homestead finished fourth in 2022, and is looking for its first team title since 1993. Hartford finished sixth overall last year, and a title would be its second ever (2020). Menomonee Falls/Germantown will be making its first appearance since consecutive fourth-place finishes 2020 and 2021. Any finish higher than that would be its best in co-op history, and the history of either schools individually.
Nicolet and West Bend West also qualified in D2, with Nicolet hoping to climb up the podium from a third-place finish last year.
West Bend West is making its first state appearance since 2017. Any finish for is higher than sixth would be the school’s best in program history.