Published: Feb. 25, 2014
West’s reign ends, but OK with it
Spartans want to return to state
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News
For a team that saw its seven-year reign as conference
champion end in its home gym Saturday afternoon, West Bend West surprisingly
and mildly brushed off the defeat.
“We knew going into this it was going to be a fight,” West
coach Jackie Vorpahl said. “We kind of knew.”
Disappointed?
“No actually,” she said. “They performed very well.”
Watertown was better as the Goslings ended West’s string of
Wisconsin Little Ten championships by winning the WLT championship meet with
138.575 points.
West was second with 137.75.
West Bend East took third with a 129.5, followed by Waupun
(128.175), Hartford Union (126.75) and Oconomowoc (108.075).
“I think we did really well,” East coach Haley Neja said.
It is the first time in more than 15 years a school other
than East or West will hold the conference championship trophy in gymnastics.
Hartford was the last team other than East or West to win the conference meet,
doing so in the 1998-99 season.
Still, Vorpahl remained adamant that the setback was OK.
“I was not disappointed at all,” she said.
It also didn’t hurt for West to watch Watertown nail its
floor routine as four girls scored higher than 9.0, led by Emily Schueler’s
9.275. That performance by the Goslings allowed them to leap over West, which was
leading by 1.9 points heading into the final rotation and West was heading to
the uneven bars.
Watertown was just better.
“The girls have been working hard,” Watertown coach Laurie
Gallmann said. “They’ve been close (to West) the last four years. It feels
great. Our girls deserve it.”
West’s Amanda Wanie won the floor exercise with a solid
score of 9.35. It was also Wanie’s first meet where she competed in the
all-around.
The 2012-13 WLT Gymnast of the Year has been slowed this
season because of a leg injury. Wanie finished fourth in the all-around with a
34.750.
Wanie’s teammate, Bailey Wagner, won on vault with a 9.125
and tied with Schueler for first on bars with an 8.775. Wagner also took home
the conference all-around title and the Gymnast of the Year award.
“I’m so happy and so proud to have finally gotten the
conference championship and athlete of the year,” Wagner said. “I’ve been
trying my entire high school career trying to earn that title and I’m so proud
of myself.”
Wagner is the eighth straight winner of the honor for West,
joining Wanie (2012-13), Kayla Janto (2011-12), Hannah Lawrence (2010-11),
Stephanie Kirn (2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10).
“It’s rightly so,” Vorpahl said of Wagner. “She’s been
knocking everybody off all year and has been placing first all year. It’s well
deserved.”
Wagner was also second on beam Saturday with an 8.975.
East’s Zoey Roberts and Paige Bintz tied for sixth, the last
medal spot, on beam with an 8.6.
“I’m so excited that beam is finally starting to work,” Neja
said. “We only had one fall of the five varsity girls and we had five 8s.”
Just three weeks ago, East had eight falls on beam in a dual
against Hartford.
For the second time this week, East flirted with breaking
the school record on beam. The Suns finished that apparatus with 33.6. On
Tuesday against Oconomowoc, the Suns had a 33.525 on beam.
The school record is 33.65, set in 2005-06, the last time
East won conference.
“It’s been a struggle all year,” Neja said of the beam. “So
(the scores) was super exciting to see.”
Hartford was led by Megan Maloney.
The senior took third after a clean beam routine and
finished with an 8.925.
Freshman Halli McCauley also made it onto the medal stand
for Hartford, finishing tied for fifth on bars with an 8.55.
But this was all a preparation for this weekend’s WIAA
sectional at Manitowoc Lincoln High School. There, West will try to be one of
two teams to advance to the state meet, which is March 7-8 in Wisconsin Rapids.
West qualified for state last year.
Before Saturday, West had won 12 of the last 13 WLT titles,
including the aforementioned previous seven.
“We’ve got how many?” Vorpahl said pointing at the
conference champions board that hangs inside the West Bend Fieldhouse. “So you
lose one. I’ve lost one in 2006. It doesn’t matter. You can do it again.”
“I’d rather look at the bigger picture,” she added. “I’d
rather take a team to state and sacrifice (a conference championship) and go to
state.”
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