Worth the wait

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)

Published: March 6, 2014

 

Worth the wait

Hartford Union’s McCauley to compete on uneven bars, Maloney beam

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

Hartford Union’s Megan Maloney didn’t have creases in her skin from crossing her fingers too hard.

She was close. She wasn’t the only one, either.

Just like her, Orioles coaches, Mary Scherr and Bobbi Scherr nervously awaited the results with their hands nearly shaking and grinding their teeth in anticipation.

This is what happens when a program hasn’t advanced a gymnast to state since 2009 and has struggled in the years since. So when the announcement came that Maloney, along with Halli McCauley, had advanced to the individual state gymnastics meet, a whoosh of relief swooped out of the Lincoln High School Fieldhouse on Saturday in Manitowoc from Maloney and the coaches — all of whom have been on a frustrating ride the last four years.

“I was crossing my fingers and really, really, really hoping (to qualify for state),” Maloney said Saturday. “Then they called a tie, then they called my score I was just so happy.”

Maloney and McCauley each took the final spots to qualify for state, which is Friday and Saturday in Wisconsin Rapids. Maloney, a senior, will compete on the balance beam after getting an 8.8 at the sectional, while McCauley, a freshman, will compete on the uneven bars, where she got an 8.45 at the sectional.

The last Orioles gymnast to advance to state was Sarah Theissen, who finished 26th on balance beam, in 2009.

“I’m really excited,” Maloney said. “As a senior, it’s a good way to go out and represent my school.”

West Bend West will also compete at state for the second straight season after winning the sectional with a school-record score. The Spartans finished sixth last year.

Maloney and McCauley, along with their coaches, held their breath for almost the entire meet, hoping the scores would hold up.

The first score to not make the cut for state on bars was an 8.4 by West’s Katelyn Butters. West was the last team to compete on bars, while the first score to not make the cut on beam was an 8.775.

“I’m just so excited; I’m overwhelmed,” McCauley said. “It’s amazing.”

“I was really nervous,” Maloney said about her score. “I knew that was the one thing I could qualify for so I was thinking about it all day.”

Getting back to state has been a difficult task for Hartford as the Orioles have struggled with consistency, whether it was because of injuries or lack of commitment to the program. The current dual and tournament format for the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference was adopted in the 1999-2000 school year. In the next 10 seasons, the Orioles had just one dual season under .500 and were in the top three at the conference meet six times. Hartford also won five straight WLT titles from 1995-99.

Then starting with the 2009-10 season, the Orioles have just one dual meet season above .500 (3-2 in 2011-12) and one topthree finish at conference (2009-10). Counting this season, the Orioles are just 10-17 in WLT duals.

At the 2011 WLT meet, the Orioles scored just a 113.55, more than 20 points behind West. And in 2012 and 2013, it was worse, with a 111.775.

This year, the Orioles fared well at conference, scoring a 126.75 and had two medalists, Maloney (beam) and McCauley (uneven bars).

“I was really proud of the team (at conference),” Scherr said. “We’ve just come a long way.”

Maloney was the first all-conference honoree from Hartford since Cora Sandow in 2008.

“Megan has just worked her butt off,” Scherr said. “She just had a good attitude all season long. It was good to see her get that one final shot.”

Maloney has been the one constant for Hartford in the four-year turnaround for the Orioles gymnastics program, having been on varsity since she was a freshman. “When Megan was a freshman, we were at a point, that was the weakest team I had ever coached in 20 years,” Scherr said.

After the meet, Maloney, who also scored a personal-best 8.6 on floor at the sectional, hugged Scherr and the veteran coach held her senior gymnast in close and told her how proud she was of her.

“Those two weeks in a row to stay composed, that’s such a hard event to stay composed on especially when you know you’ve got a shot at doing well,” said Scherr of Maloney on the beam. “She’s been consistent all year long.”

Each returning gymnast, Scherr said, improved immensely from last season, which was something she couldn’t always say. Among those who have improved were Becca Schnorenberg, Erin Baldwin and Lindsey Semler.

Baldwin may have had the biggest improvement after starting the season on junior varsity with some of the lower scores on JV and quickly became one of Scherr’s top-three scorers on varsity floor, vault and even beam.

“There’s just been a lot of improvement,” Scherr added.

There could be more state appearances to come for Hartford, led by McCauley. That’s certainly the hope moving forward.

“It’s just a good experience for her to go (to state) and see and know what you have to work on can make you more hungry for next year,” Scherr said. “It motivates you that much more.”