Evie Beidel and Ellie Eckert ….

Evie Beidel and Ellie Eckert are new sophomores to the team and a sizable freshman class includes Brooke Buechel, Ada Freiberg, Kate Gierl, Jordyn Grant, Rylee Hartwig, and Haddie Ziehlke. Rachel Varney is the team’s new manager.

Early on, Brushaber said the practice focus for the experienced girls is perfecting the individual skills they know need to be worked on.

For the new girls, it’s been about learning the fundamentals that will eventually lead to their first routines.

“I have had them focus on the individual skills they are working on,” Brushaber said.

“The newer girls are told to focus on the basic skills to formulate a routine. I have been encouraging them to see this year as a skillbuilding year and to give themselves time when learning things.

We had a couple of sprained feet already which has slowed the training of those two girls. I directed girls to formulate beam routines and floor routines and then we will put together bars. Bars are a little more fluid. Things do not change as much on bars as they do for floor or beam. The girls are focused on formulating routines and polishing them.”

With four of the five team state performers on the beam back (Rothmeier, Mateer, Cloud and Radlinger), it makes sense that event is one where the Raiders expect some big things.

In time, however, Brushaber sees this team being strong at the varsity level on the bars, vault and floor exercise as well.

“The strengths are not limited to one event, but beam is looking very solid,” she said. “We have some exciting things happening for floor and bars too. I feel like we have secret weapons on vault that just are on the cusp of fruition. It will come down to reps and having enough time to fine tune things but also we need to have the girls get over some nerves to complete them.

“Beam looks so solid this year and that is saying something because we had three beautiful beam athletes that graduated last year,” Brushaber added. “Release skills on bars has had many of the veteran athletes’ focus lately. I think the girls are aware of how strong our beam can be this year and just how deep our team is. Our vaults may make the most improvement if we can get over the last bit of reservation. Honestly though, our floor could easily improve just as much. We had some injuries last year that halted some athletes from showing their true potential on certain events but they were fighters to get through it. We really need to lean on each other and become specialists in certain areas so that overall our team score improves.”

Being in year two as coaches certainly makes like a little more comfortable for Brushaber and Yanko. Yanko is also now the director of Rainbow Gymnastics. Having a much larger roster naturally creates some challenges in the first month, but the depth is something the Raiders wanted after last year.

“This is quite an exciting time for (Yanko),” Brushaber said. “She seems very relaxed, calm, cool and collected. For me, we have more girls that are new to gymnastics and a manager this year which is exciting, but it is more to keep track of. It is more planning and supervision. I am very excited to get started with the competitions but the start of the year always feels stressful since we have so much to prepare for in a short time. … We have support if we need it through Steve (Cain) and Jaylene (Lannet) which is so helpful. I have made some additional connections with coaches and judges at clinics. I am just so grateful for all the wonderful people who are a part of this sport. I want to thank our bus drivers, the Rainbow staff, and the community for supporting our team through our fundraisers. We would love to see spectators at our home meets.”

Medford-Colby’s success in the sport the past three years is the reason for the team’s move to Division 1 this year. This is the first school year the WIAA is using its performance factor in the divisional placement process for each sport. Sectional championships in the last three years gave the Raiders the six points needed to bump up a division.

That will put Medford-Colby in the West Salem sectional with Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire Memorial-North, Holmen, Hudson, La Crosse Logan-Central, Superior and the West Salem Co-op. The West Salem Co-op also got bumped up this year.

Medford-Colby is already somewhat used to D-1 competition, facing Marshfield, Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids in the Great Northern Conference’s Large Division. Marshfield is the defending conference champion, though Medford-Colby won the conference meet last year on its way to a second-place finish in the overall standings.

Brushaber admitted the move, when announced last spring, jolted the Raiders at first.

“At first, it was daunting but then we just could not focus on it anymore,” she said. “I told the girls that we just need to rise up. We need to all get better and boost each other. The girls started this season with a laser focus and an understanding that we will worry about each meet as it comes. We can only do our best and give our best efforts day in and day out.”

Besides Saturday’s Hot Cocoa Invitational, the Raiders’ home meets this season are GNC Large Division dual meets Dec. 19 against Stevens Point and Feb. 6 against Wisconsin Rapids.