Malchow helps state team place 3rd at national event

SENIOR SHOWCASE INVITATIONAL

A four-year gymnastics career that included five Great Northern Conference event championships, five WIAA sectional championships, including three in a row on bars, WIAA Division 2 state appearances each year and three school records at one time or another led to Kate Malchow getting one more shot to represent Medford in the sport.

Malchow was part of Team Wisconsin in the National High School Gymnastics Association’s Senior Showcase Invitational, held May 18-20 in Fort Myers, Fla. The team placed third out of nine teams that had full squads at the meet. Malchow competed in all four events during the preliminary competition and nearly earned a spot in the finals on the balance beam.

“It was definitely a lot of fun,” Malchow said. “I’m glad I decided to do it. It was a really good experience.”

Malchow was selected through an application process that is open to all senior gymnasts in Wisconsin. The process includes reviews of gymnasts’ accomplishments and video of their skills. She found out just before the state meet in early March that she was chosen. Malchow was one of 16 gymnasts who made the trip.

Most of that group was from southern Wisconsin, but the eight-member coaching staff included Allie Siemandel of Marshfield, a program that has had a good relationship with Medford in recent years. Marshfield’s Ellie Jensen and Phoebe Hernandez joined Malchow as the northern-most representatives on the team.

“It was really nice to have Allie there, so at least I knew one of the coaches,” Malchow said.

The team had a couple of practices in the Milwaukee area, one of which Malchow said she was unable to make due to a snowstorm, and one in Marshfield before flying south.

“At first, a lot of the girls just hung in their little groups,” Malchow said. “There were quite a few where their schools were in the same area, so they already knew each other. But in the practices we got to know each other a little better, but I would say on the plane ride is when we all really started talking to each other and getting to know each other.”

Wisconsin finished the team competition with a score of 140.1, putting it behind New Jersey (150.8) and Massachusetts (144.225) but just ahead of Connecticut (139.575) and Illinois (137.775) in the top five. Texas (134.575), Washington (133.15), Indiana (129.175) and Michigan (120.575) also had teams in the competition.

The two-day competition started Friday, May 19 with a full competition that included team scoring and the determination of spots for the next day’s finals. Top 15 finishers in each event qualified for the finals.

Malchow contributed to Wisconsin’s team score as its highest-scoring competitor on the balance beam. She was 17th out of 85 gymnasts with a score of 8.85, just ahead of teammate Ella Crowley of Verona-Edgewood. Ana Glineur, an exchange student who was part of West Allis Hale’s program this year, earned an 8.7 and Charli DeGarmo of Janesville Craig was 28th at 8.525.

“I just stuck my series,” said Malchow, who remains Medford’s record holder on beam with a 9.25 score from the 2021-22 season. “That’s pretty much what it was. Hitting that series had been the big issue for me this year.”

She said the 17th-place finish actually could have gotten her to Saturday’s finals. Some girls made late decisions to pull out and only 13 girls wound up competing on the beam on day two. Emily Rogers of New Jersey, who was fourth on day one at 9.4, won on Saturday with a 9.425. Connecticut’s Taylor Markley had the top score on Friday with an impressive 9.625, while New Jersey’s Hailey Zampella got a 9.575.

Malchow felt her routine on the uneven bars was solid. She got a 7.85 that placed 25th out of 80 gymnasts. Gabby Dixon of Elkhorn was Wisconsin’s top scorer with a 9.025 that placed 10th. She got an 8.2 on the floor exercise, which was good for 63rd out fo 89 gymnasts. The vault was the one event that Malchow wished she could have back. She tied for 65th with a 7.85.

Malchow was a solid 29th in the allaround competition with a total score of 32.75. Kylie Sitty of New Jersey was the all-around champion with 37.925 total points.

Malchow said one of the neatest features of the competition was that it was set up so gymnasts could watch each other compete, unlike high school meets where there tend to be multiple routines going simultaneously.

“There were some gymnasts who were really good,” she said. “There were some pretty good girls on vault and bars especially. There were a few who are going to compete in college. There were a couple of girls who are going to Division I.”

As for Malchow, she’s still undecided about her next move. She will return to Florida, this time to the Orlando area, for the AAU gymnastics nationals, which are set for June 29-July 3. She said she’s still looking into college programs, possibly at the club level, to continue her athletic passion, even if the years of bumps and bruises the sport of gymnastics hands out are starting to add up.

“I’m not ready to give it up yet,” she said.

Team Wisconsin, including Medford’s Kate Malchow (back, second from left) is ready to compete at the National High School Gymnastics Association’s Senior Showcase Invitational in Fort Myers, Fla.