Honors pile up for Wildcat gymnasts

• Riley Claude

Sophomore Riley Claude finished the season as the Wildcat gymnastics team’s top scorer and was one of 10 Cats to be named to the Wisconsin High School Gymnastics Association Academic All-State Team. Bob Burrows photo

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The Wildcat gymnastics team proved it had plenty of talent in the gym this season. Now 10 Wildcats have been recognized for their achievements in the classroom as well.

Seniors Mary Butler and Kayla Rohl, juniors Ruth Anderson-Benge, Britta Grebner, Amanda Guise and Rose Tashjian, and sophomores Riley Claude, Anita Fraser, Paige Skorseth and Lauren Slowiak have all earned spots on the Wisconsin High School Gymnastics Association Academic All-State Team.

Only sophomores through seniors are eligible for the team. Of the 14 sophomores through seniors on the Wildcat squad, 10 of them fit the criteria to be honored. Grade point averages of the girls’ named ranged from 3.6 to 4.0

The Cats won their fourth straight Big Rivers Conference title and qualified for the WIAA State Gymnastics Meet for the 10th straight year this season. They have won five state titles in that span and finished third this year.

Previously, eight Cats earned spots on WHSGA All-State Teams. Claude was named to the first team on the uneven bars and Guise made the first team on the balance beam. Skorseth earned first team honors in the floor exercise while junior Sierra Becker was named to the first team as an all-around.

Brown and freshman Karlie Place both earned second team honors in the vault and Anderson-Benge was named to the second team on the bars while Tashjian made the second team on the balance beam.

The Cats held their annual team banquet March 10, hosted by the juniors’ parents, with a pot luck at the middle school. Additional team awards, as voted on by the gymnasts, were handed out.

Slowiak earned the Best Dancer award and Skorseth was voted Best Tumbler while Becker took the Most Powerful on Bars and Vault and Taylor Rose earned the Most Improved. Rohl was named Most Helpful and Tashjian won the Team Spirit and Sportsmanship award.

Claude was the team’s leading scorer this season, earning a total of 470.979 points.

Tags: sports, prep, wildcats, gymnastics