Nicolet wins D2 state gymnastics title
Nicolet winning its fifth title in program history in Division 2, Franklin/ Muskego nearly repeating in D1 and Homestead’s Maggie Pokorny finishing second in the D1 individual all-around were just some of the highlights at the WIAA state gymnastics meet in Wisconsin Rapids last Friday and Saturday. Full results are available on the WIAA website.
Nicolet wins Division 2 gymnastics title; Cassi Hansen repeats as individual champ
Nicolet won its fifth team state gymnastics title and first since 1986, led by a repeating individual champion in senior Cassi Hansen. The Knights compiled a team score of 142.75, beating out West Salem Co-op (138) for the title. Their individual event scores were the best in each event of the team competition, including balance beam (34.75) floor (36.4), vault (36.783) and uneven bars (34.817).
Nicolet head coach Molly McKenzie said the results were a credit to her team battling from start to finish this season.
“I continually remind them that anything can happen, and so you can’t go in there and be expected to be handed that trophy,” McKenzie said. “We’ve still got to go out there, focus on ourselves and do what we know how to do.”
Nicolet got contributions across its lineup en route to the title, including senior Addie Matheis’ 8.867 on bars, junior Ezzy Mauermann’s team-best 9.35 on vault and senior Olivia Theisen’s 8.967 on the floor.
Hansen, who led her team in three events for the team title, also won her second-consecutive all-around title on Saturday in the individual competition. She won the bars (9.6) and floor (9.433) events, while finishing third on beam (9.083) and ninth on vault (9.3). McKenzie praised Hansen’s drive to finish on top for a historic consecutive title.
“She got first two years in a row, which, I don’t know if that’s ever happened at Nicolet in the sport of gymnastics,” McKenzie said. “When it’s competition time, every ounce of her body is in
it to win.”
Franklin/Muskego narrowly misses repeat title
Despite graduating five key seniors from its 2022 team state title win, Franklin/Muskego held out hope that its depth could carry the day to a repeat. In the end, its team score of 145.3167 fell .8 points short of Verona/Edgewood’s 146.1167 as F/M finished second. Head coach Katie Moore said her team had nothing to hang its head about after what she called a ‘fantastic’ season.
“Finishing second at state is really still a pretty good achievement,” Moore said. “To lose to a team as strong as Verona/Edgewood, I don’t know that it’s anything to be upset about.”
Junior Kaylee Stoeger (37.483 allaround) and freshman Grace Hilber (35.7) finished third and ninth, respectively, in the individual competition, while leading the team effort as well. A robust junior class contribution to the team finish also included Ellie Johnson’s team-leading 9.3 on beam, Leah Pereira’s 9.05 on vault, Kayla Schuerman’s 8.983 on the floor and Meredith Peters’ 8.5 on beam. Senior Meara Sullivan added a 9.067 on the floor and 8.833 on vault to the team score.
The F/M program will once again boast a strong senior class next year, with a chance to compete for a title once again if all return according to Moore.
“I think we’re only going to get better,” Moore said. “To have that many seniors who have been here before and will be really hungry to get back here and do well, I’m pretty excited about that opportunity for sure.”
For Moore, who also coaches the Oak Creek/Whitnall co-op that saw sophomore Erica Miner finish sixth in the allaround (36.55), the hope is to see both programs continue to grow next year.
“Hopefully (Miner) can come back next year and kind of get a couple friends to help out.,” Moore said. “The Oak Creek/Whitnall team is a little smaller than the Franklin/Muskego team, but it would be fun to take both of them to state next year.”
Homestead’s Maggie Pokorny second individually in all-around
Homestead senior Maggie Pokorny was hoping to go out on top of the allaround standings to end her high school career, but a setback on beam put her in a tough spot for the remainder of the individual meet Saturday. Chasing Verona/Edgewood junior Annika Rufenacht for the second-consecutive year, Pokorny figured her last appearance at state was as good a time as any to go for it. A last-minute addition to her floor routine in the form of a double back was a bold strategy, but one that paid off as she won the event with her highest score of the season in the event, a 9.5.
“I thought it’d be the perfect time to showcase this skill that I’ve been working on,” Pokorny said. “It did increase my score, and I was really happy to go out with a bang, with a new skill that I’ve been working on, especially to be able to stick it.”
Pokorny also won the individual vault event with a score of 9.8, and finished third on bars with a score of 9.45. Her all-around score of 37.55 came up just shy of Rufenacht’s 38.1 in the standings, but Pokorny was extremely pleased with her second-consecutive second-place finish at D1 state.
“I’ve worked so hard this season, the team has worked so hard this season,” Pokorny said. “I’m really happy to see all of our hard work paying off in the end.”
Homestead finished 6th as a team on Friday with a score of 137.0667. Head coach Betsy Vielgut said the experience was extremely valuable for her younger competitors as well, many of whom were influenced to join high school gymnastics by Pokorny.
“We’ve gone from 12 gymnasts to 19 gymnasts, and I think that’s due in great part to Maggie joining, and having that camaraderie on a team, and not just doing club gymnastics,” Vielgut said. “Our freshmen got a taste of what the state tournament is like, and it really inspired them to do offseason gymnastics so we can keep that momentum going throughout the rest of the years to come.”