THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 55th Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Gymnastics State Championships will take place Friday-Saturday, March 7-8 at Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High School in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. The team championships in Divisions 1 and 2 will begin Friday at noon. The individual championships will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday.
TICKET INFORMATION: Ticket prices for the State Gymnastics Championships are $9 per day plus online fees, and they are available to be purchased on-line on the WIAA website through GoFan, the WIAA ticketing partner, at: https://gofan.co/app/school/WIAA2?activity=Gymnastics.
HOW THEY QUALIFIED: 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.
TEAM SCORING: Team scores are compiled by adding the sum of the four best individual scores in each of the four events in the team competition.
CHAMPIONSHIPS STREAMED LIVE: All events of the State Gymnastics Championships will be streamed live and can be viewed with a subscription to the NFHS Network. To purchase a subscription to the live programming for only $11.99 per month, log-on to www.wiaa.tv or www.nfhsnetwork.com and click on the subscription button in the header of the page. Archived streams of the sessions will be available on demand on www.nfhsnetwork.com 72 hours after the tournament.
COMPETING TEAMS: The 10 teams that will be competing for the team State championship in Division 1, with the number of times the programs have qualified for the team competition in parentheses, are Arrowhead (18) Chippewa Falls/McDonell Catholic (3), Elkhorn (11), Hartford (8), Mount Horeb (38), Oak Creek/Whitnall (2), Oshkosh West/North (2), Stevens Point Area High School (24) Verona/Edgewood (13) and West Salem/Aquinas/Bangor (7). The 10 teams competing in Division 2 are Dodgeville/Highland/Iowa-Grant/Mineral Point (2), Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau/Cochrane-Fountain City/Melrose-Mindoro (8), Marshfield (5), Monona Grove (6), Rice Lake (4), River Falls (33), Sauk Prairie (1), Shorewood/University School of Milwaukee (1), Waupun (5) and West Bend East (2). There were 78 teams in the Tournament Series this year, including 40 in Division 1 and 38 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. In 2020, a change to cooperative team eligibility restricted co-op programs to a maximum of two schools or a combined enrollment of the co-op must be less than the enrollment of the largest stand-alone program in each respective division. Whitefish Bay has won the most team championships with 11, which doesn’t include two titles with Shorewood as a co-op. The Franklin/Muskego/Oak Creek/Whitnall co-op is second on the list of team titles won with eight. In addition, the Franklin/Muskego co-op added team titles in 2022 in 2024. Waukesha West/North/South is next on the list with seven, and Mount Horeb and River Falls are fourth with six. Brookfield Central, De Pere and Nicolet have five titles. Addie Gallun of Whitefish Bay and Beth Weber of Whitefish Bay/Shorewood have won the most individual championships in meet history with 10. Gina Piazza of Fall River is next with eight, and Jenny Donar of Southwestern/Cuba City and Samantha Krueger of River Falls have won seven.
LAST YEAR: Franklin/Muskego captured its second Division 1 title by scoring a four-event score of 147.7167, and Verona/Edgewood finished runner-up with a tally of 146.8167. Elkhorn won the Division 2 championship with a score of 140.6835. The West Salem/Aquinas/Bangor co-op finished in second place for the second year in a row, scoring 140.2335 points. Individually, Annika Rufenacht of Verona/Edgewood won the Division 1 all-around competition for the third year in a row, compiling a score of 337.9667. Rufenacht also won the vault competition with a score of 9.8167. Sam Burge of Mukwonago/Kettle Moraine captured the championship on the balance beam with a score of 9.5333 and the floor exercise, scoring a 9.4667. Kaylee Stoeger Franklin/Muskego was the champion in the uneven bars competition with a score of 9.7667. In Division 2, Avery Ash of Rice Lake won the all-around with a score of 36.6166. Ash won the vault for the second consecutive season with a score of 9.416, tying Kaylee Frank of Elkhorn. Ash also won the balance beam with the score of 9.5833. Jenna Heindselman of Elkhorn captured the floor exercise crown with a score of 9.30, and Isabell Korn of Westby/Viroqua/Cashton/De Soto was the champion on the uneven bars with a score of 9.2167.
DIVISION 1 NOTEBOOK: There are no events that return their champions from the State Meet last season. Several experienced gymnasts will contend for the all-around championship this year. Sophomore Annika Lee of Waunakee/DeForest is the top returning competitor in the all-around. She placed fourth last season and was second at her sectional last week. Senior Ava Krista of Chippewa Falls/McDonell Catholic is a three-time State qualifier. She placed sixth in all-around a year ago, 15th in 2023 and 19th in 2022. She returns to State after winning the sectional all-around last week. Junior Grace Hibler of Franklin/Muskego returns to the State Meet for the third time. She was eighth in the all-around last season and 10th in 2023. Senior Kaylee Frank of Elkhorn moves up a division after placing eighth last year and third in 2023. She will contend for a title after winning her sectional last weekend. The other all-around champions at sectionals last week that may contend for the title are senior Addison Friedl of Hartford, junior Neva Schlies of Oshkosh West/North and junior Zoe Marckesano of Verona/Edgewood. Lee is the highest finishing returner to the Division 1 vault competition with her third-place finish a year ago. Frank moves up to the Division 1 after finishing runner-up in Division 2 last season. Senior Erica Milner of Oak Creek/Whitnall may also challenge for position on the medal stand after placing eighth last season and tied for fifth in 2023. Other leading contenders for the title based on the sectional-winning performances are senior Ella Spaeth of Chippewa Falls/McDonell Catholic, junior Payton Eicher of Arrowhead and junior Magdalena Rosas Sarmiento of Nicolet. In the uneven parallel bars, Krista is one of the favorites to contend for the title. She finished third in 2024 after finishing eighth in 2023. Frank is included on the list of favorites after placing third in Division 2 last year and was runner-up in 2023. Miner placed sixth on the uneven bars the past two seasons, and Hibler placed seventh last season. Both should again be among the leaders in the event. Marckesano, junior Journee Carter of Arrowhead and junior Macy Diemer of Homestead all won their sectionals last week in pursuit of the championship. Frank is also one of the leading challengers for the gold medal on the balance beam after her runner-up finish in Division 2 last year and finishing 10th in 2023. Junior Ava Shotola of Oak Creek/Whitnall is the top returning Division 1 performer on the beam, placing fifth last season. Lee and Friedl may also be in the mix after placing in a tie for eighth. Other competitors that won their sectional are pursuing the title as well, including senior Julia Bounting of Hudson, senior Kate Krauklis of Elkhorn and Schlies. The floor exercise is highlighted by several State-experienced gymnasts. The top contenders in the event are Lee, who was runner-up last year, Miner who was sixth and Krista, who tied for seventh. Senior Athena Ouradnik of Mount Horeb should be added to the mix as well after she placed sixth in Division 2 last year. Last week’s sectional champions that may also compete for medal positions are senior Katie Lange of Holmen, senior Bella Perez Emory of Oconomowoc and sophomore Dominika Ziemba of Verona and junior Annika Leinweber of Whitefish Bay.
DIVISION 2 NOTEBOOK: There are three events and the all-around with former champions among their qualifiers this year. Senior Avery Ash of Rice Lake is the headliner in the division. She is the returning champion in the all-around after placing fifth in 2023 and 18th in 2022. Senior Isabell Korn of the Westby co-op may provide stiff competition for Ash after finishing runner-up last year, sixth in 2023 and 16th in 2022. The same expectations may also be true of senior Abby Roecker of Waupun. She placed fourth last year, second in 2023 and fourth in 2022. Others attempting to challenge these three for the title based on their sectional championships in the all-around are junior Gabrielle Bjorkman of Sparta, senior McKenna Breunig of Sauk Prairie and sophomore Nola Benson of Monona Grove. Ash is the two-time returning champion in the vault. She appears poised to contend for the third title. Roecker has the experience to be among the leaders in the event. She placed fifth in 2024 after finishing eighth in 2023. Bjorkman, senior Anya Seffrood of the River Valley co-op and senior Sammy Knight of Watertown won the vault competition at their sectionals and could be among the top finishers in the event. Korn is one of the leading contenders for the title in the uneven bars as the returning champion. The four-time qualifier in the event also placed 11th in 2023 and 4th in 2022. Roecker has sights on another top-10 finish on the uneven bars after placing sixth a year ago and 10th in 2023. Sectional champions looking to contend for the title are Bjorkman, senior Celina Hess of the Bloomer Co-op, junior Gabi Ortiz Fleet of Shorewood/University School of Milwaukee and sophomore Madelyn Klein of the Dodgeville Co-op. The balance beam may be the most competitive event in the meet with two former champions qualifying this year. Ash was the champion last season after she finished runner-up in 2023 and 10th in 2022. Roecker dropped to 14th last year after winning the beam title in 2023 and placing third in 2022. Sophomore Ella Tweety of Monona Grove is back after her runner-up finish last year, and Korn is a four-time qualifier in the event, tying for fifth in 2024 and 2023 to go with a fourth-place finish in 2022. Breunig, Bjorkman and Ortiz Fleet are sectional champions on the balance beam that may also challenge for positions on the awards stand. Tweedy is the top returning qualifier in the the floor exercise competition with her third-place standing last year. Both Roecker and Ash are four-time qualifiers in the event and should be considered leading contenders to challenge for the gold medal. Roecker placed fourth last year, seventh in 2023 and 10th in 2022. Ash was 10th last year, 12th in 2023 and 19th in 2022. Korn, Bruenig Knight, freshman Ruby Amundson of River Falls and senior McKennah Orth of West Bend East are champions in the floor exercise at sectionals last week who have the opportunity to compete for the title as well.
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 like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at wiaawi.
NEED THE QUALIFIERS?: All participants and rotations of qualifying teams and individuals are available on the WIAA website. Access the gymnastics tournament homepage and select the State Tournament Information section.
NEED RESULTS?: The quickest way to attain results will be to access the link to ScoreFlippers on the gymnastics tournament homepage on the WIAA website. Once on the ScoreFlippers website at: https://www.scoreflippers.com/INSIGHT/MeetDetails.aspx?MeetID=30157. Click on the green “Meet Scores” button to view live scoring.
STATE GYMNASTICS APPAREL: Online purchases made by midnight March 3 will be available for pick-up at the venue on March 7-8. Apparel is also available online. WIAA licensed apparel will be available at Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High School during the tournament. The link to the online store is https://tier1sports.com/product/2025-wiaa-state-gymnastics-apparel/