Gymnasts
was third at 8.55 and Brooklyn Bilz was fourth at 8.5. Kennedy Bilz started with a solid 8.3 that was good for ninth and Malchow was 10th at 8.225. Both of them weren’t far off their best scores from last year.
“Across the board we had a very good day on vault,” Cain said. “Everybody was where they should be. Out of all the vaulters, we have two or three that are going to be doing something far bigger than what they did at the meet there.”
The home team outscored Medford in the floor exercise 32.8 to 32.0, but Wanke and Ulrich secured the top two individual spots. Wanke’s winning score was 8.65, while Ulrich earned an 8.3. Malchow was eighth with her 7.7 and Krause was ninth at 7.35.
“On floor we fared pretty decent,” Cain said. “The girls weren’t fazed too much by anything. We know the routines work. We know the music works with the routines. That’s almost like a big test. The first meet is always a big test. Is this the right routine we want to do? Is this the right combination? Everything about it is kind of like a test to see what we should take out, what we should put in. Should we even continue with what you got?”
Wanke (33.875), Ulrich (32.275) and Malchow (29.775) were the meet’s only all-around performers.
With a deeper list of available gymnasts, Wisconsin Rapids won the JV meet 112.3-75.975. But Cain and assistant coach Marisa DuBois were thrilled with the Raiders’ results.
Freshman Ellison Carbaugh was Medford’s lone winner, taking the uneven bars with a score of 6.4, two tenths ahead of Rapids’ Lydia Zacher. Kaileigh Mientke was sixth and Kennedy Bilz was seventh. Carbaugh got an 8.25 that put her in second place on the vault, 0.15 points behind winner Morgan Benedict. Krause was third at 8.225, sophomore Kiarah Behling was seventh at 7.5 and Mientke was eighth at 7.2.
Kennedy Bilz (6.4) and Behling (5.4) were sixth and seventh on the floor. Carbaugh tied for third on the balance beam at 7.2, while Mientke (7.0) and Behling (6.4) were fifth and sixth.
“We’re coming full circle,” Cain said. “It’s a tribute to the people who brought this program up. This program started out with certain individuals who have brought it full circle around to where now most of the kids in that lineup are all club kids that have been in it since they’ve been little. The benefits of that are showing through and it’s going to be continued. That all goes back to Lisa Brooks, who was a big one. Let’s not forget Kari Wanke. Kari still really pushes those girls that are in the higher levels, coming out of grade school into high school. The combination of that has brought things full circle. I never like to lose focus of that.”
Medford begins its quest for a third straight Great Northern Conference Small Division title Tuesday when it hosts Rhinelander at Medford Area Elementary School at 5:45 p.m.
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