The Stevens Point Area Senior High School (SPASH) gymnastics team advanced to the WIAA Division 1 State Meet on Saturday, March 2, in Wisconsin Rapids by winning the Neenah Sectional on Saturday, Feb. 23. In addition to qualifying as a team, five SPASH gymnasts advanced to the State Meet in Wisconsin Rapids on Friday, March 1, by placing in the top five in their events.
"This is the first time in my nine years coaching at SPASH that we placed first at sectionals. Two other times we placed second," said SPASH coach Mary Olszewski. "We went into the meet with a positive attitude and confidence that no matter what happened we would stay strong and stay together as a team. The team did just that."
The Panthers finished with a score of 141.275 points with Neenah-Menasha taking second with 139.650 and Oshkosh West-North finishing third with 135.950.
Raenee Bugarske was the top SPASH finisher in the all around, taking third with a score of 35.6. Kaity Munsey finished seventh with 35.05 and Kim Klosno took eighth with 34.6.
After some early struggles on the balance beam, on which Jenna Weinbauer was the top SPASH competitor, taking third place with a score of 9.1, the Panthers gained momentum and finished strong.
"We began on beam with a few more falls than we usually have but kept positive," Olszewski said. "We performed extremely strong and clean routines on floor and then onto vault where we did well. We finished on bars with a lot of energy and clean routines."
Klosno and Bugarske finished second and third on the floor, with scores of 9.3 and 9.225 respectively. Munsey took ninth, Nikki Cruz took 10th and Anne Simonis came in 22nd.
Bugarske took first in the vault with a score of 9.05. Munsey took seventh, Carrie Williamson captured 14th, Cruz took 18th and Klosno finished 35th.
On the uneven bars, SPASH took three of the top five spots. Simonis took first with 9.05, Munsey captured second with 8.95 and Bugarske took fifth with 8.8. Stephanie Niedermann finished 10th for the Panthers and Klosno took 11th.
"The team was overjoyed with the win," Olszewski. "We could hardly believe how well we performed."