News

THE CHAMPIONSHIPS:  The 46th Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Gymnastics State Championships will take place Friday and Saturday, March 4-5, at Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High School in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. The team championships will begin Friday at 2 p.m. The individual competition will begin at 11:10 a.m. Saturday. Ticket prices for the championships are $6 per session and are available at the door.

CHAMPIONSHIPS FORMAT:  Ten teams will compete for the Division 1 and Division 2 team titles. The top two teams from each of the five sectionals in each division qualify for the meet. The top five individuals in each event and the top five all-arounds at each sectional qualify for the State Individual Championships.  

COMPETING TEAMS:  There are 10 teams that compete for the team State championship in both divisions. The teams qualifying in Division 1, with the number of times the programs have qualified for the team competition in parentheses, are Arrowhead (11), Brookfield East/Central (2), Franklin/Muskego/Oak Creek/Whitnall (9), Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau/Luther/Cochrane-Fountain City/Melrose-Mindoro/Whitehall (2), Grafton/Cedarburg (4), Kenosha Bradford/Indian Trail/Tremper/Westosha Central (1), Madison Memorial (19), Manitowoc Lincoln (1), Middleton (20) and Stevens Point (21). The 10 teams competing in Division 2 are Ashland (15), Dodgeville/Mineral Point (1), Grantsburg/Luck/Unity (1), Mount Horeb (29), Platteville/Belmont/Lancaster (7), Rice Lake/Cumberland (11), River Falls (26), Viroqua/Cashton/North Crawford (1), Waupun (1) and Whitefish Bay (21). There were 79 teams in the Tournament Series this year, including 40 in Division 1 and 39 in Division 2.

TEAM TOURNAMENT HISTORY:  The WIAA has sponsored the State Gymnastics Championships since 1971. The event featured one division from 1971 through 1977. The State Tournament Series competition was divided into two divisions in 1978. Waukesha West/North/South has won the most team championships with seven. River Falls and Whitefish Bay, which doesn’t include two titles with Shorewood as a co-op, are next in the gold trophy standings with six. Brookfield Central, De Pere and Mount Horeb are tied for the fourth most with five. The Franklin/Muskego/Oak Creek/Whitnall co-op, as well as Nicolet and Southwestern/Cuba City have won four titles. 

LAST YEAR:  Arrowhead won its third Division 1 team championship by outscoring the rest of the field with a score of 148.333. The four-time defending champion Franklin/Muskego/Oak Creek/Whitnall co-op placed runner-up with a score of 146.467. Individually, Molly Benavides of Burlington/Badger/Catholic Central/Union Grove/Wilmot won the all-around competition with a score of 38.30. Bailey Fitzpatrick of Burlington/ Badger/Catholic Central/Union Grove/Wilmot won the vault by earning a score of 9.767, and she tied for the gold medal on the balance beam with Tia Dorshorst of Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln. Each scored a 9.367. Taryn Sherman of Arrowhead won the uneven bars with a score of 9.817. Jorin Fredman of Arrowhead captured the floor exercise crown with score of 9.633. In Division 2, Mount Horeb won its fifth team championship with a score of 141.6833. Defending champion Whitefish Bay was runner-up, finishing with a score of 140.95. Individually, Lauren Faust of Mount Horeb won the all-around competition with a score of 36.933. Mary Claire Potter of Whitefish Bay claimed the title on the balance beam with a score of 9.40, and Jozie McClelland of Viroqua/Cashton/Hillsboro/North Crawford won the floor exercise with a score of 9.533. Alex Van Gilder of Rice Lake/Cumberland won her second straight title in the vault competition with a score of  9.583, and Sarah Duff of Mount Horeb won the Uneven Bars with a score of 9.433.

RETURNING CHAMPIONS:  Three of the events in Division 1 will feature a former champion returning to contend for another crown. Senior Taryn Sherman of Arrowhead captured the gold medal in the uneven parallel bars last season. She returns to the event with sights on duplicating last year’s success. Senior Amanda Pennow of Brookfield East/Central is also a returning champion in the event, sharing the title in 2014. Sophomore Tia Dorshorst of Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln shared the title on the balance beam last year. She qualifies in the event again this year in pursuit of back-to-back championships. Senior Sam Balcerak of Franklin/Muskego/Oak Creek/Whitnall captured the crown in the floor exercise two seasons ago. She looks to return to challenge for the title after placing seventh last year. In Division 2, the balance beam will feature a pair of former champions vying for the title. Senior Mary Claire Potter of Whitefish Bay won the event last season. In order for Potter to successfully defend her title, she’ll need to contend with senior Jessee Lerud of Grantsburg/Luck/Unity, who was the champion in the event in 2014. Senior Jozie McClelland of Viroqua/Cashton/North Crawford is last year’s champion in the floor exercise following an 11th-place finish in 2014. She returns to the event with hopes of retaining the title. Junior Aly Yurkowitz of Whitefish Bay fell out of contention for the championship in the floor exercise last season after capturing the crown in 2014. She is looking to return to atop the award stand this season.  

FOLLOW STATE MEET ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive updates of the State Gymnastics Tournament on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaagym. Also follow daily recaps on Facebook.

NEED THE QUALIFIERS?:  All participants and rotations of qualifying teams and individuals are available on the WIAA website. Access the gymnastics homepage and select the State Tournament Information section in the right column.

NEED RESULTS?:  The quickest way to attain results will be to access the Tournament Information section from the gymnastics homepage on the WIAA website.