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River Valley/Barneveld was happy with their WIAA Division 2 gymnastics sectional placement as it was keeping them away from the sure to clinch Mount Horeb Vikings.
But during the year of COVID you have to be ready to roll with the punches and the Blackhawks took a good shot when one of the sectional sites was cancelled and Mount Horeb was moved to the same sectional.
When it was over Reedsburg Area picked up the second slot for team event at state this weekend. RV/B finished in fourth place behind Platteville/Belmont/Lancaster while the tri-op of Dodgeville, Mineral Point and Iowa-Grant took fifth.
Both teams will have an individual competing at the state meet. Junior Lorisa Shatrawka returns for RV/B and won the beam competition last year. She finished second on beam at sectionals and recently returned from an injury and is at about 80%. She also qualified with a second on bars
Freshman Brooklyn Murphy is the qualifier for DMPIG, in two events. She took fourth on bars and fifth on beam.
Onalaska will host the Division 2 state meet at the Performance Elite Center in La Crosse Saturday with the entire meet finishing in one day.  Division 1 will be at Wisconsin Rapids.
Following are River Valley/Barneveld coach Julie Kuhse's comments on the Blackhawks' sectional performance.
We had high expectations for sectionals, and had our eye on state all season. Unfortunately,when teams were rearranged three weeks before the sectional meet, we found out it was going to be a bigger challenge than we imagined.
With Mount Horeb's sectional dissolved, we took on an additional three teams to our field of eight for a total of 11 teams computing for just the top five spots on each event and all around and the top two teams to advance to the state meet.
Bars First
Starting on bars, Madison Krey started us out with her improved dismount. Emily Noble, McKenzie Krause, and Sofia Sanftleben all improved scores over conference. Lorisa Shatrawka had been working diligently on her revised routine and hit every series in warmups. Unfortunately her pirouette didn't go over the bar and she needed to alter her routine to cover the error. We had talked and worked through this happening, so while she was prepared. She added her advanced high "bail" for difficulty and direction change and we were excited for this to all come together. She will have the chance to do exactly that as she finished in a tie for second place with 8.75 to qualify to compete at state.
Beam
We then competed on beam. The girls have been extremely consistent on beam recently, something we struggled with in years past. Emily started us out with another no fall routine, and McKenzie and Lorisa did the same. McKenzie hit her season high with 8.0. Lorisa was nearly flawless, adding her back tuck just this last week to gain full difficulty. She finished with her season high in second with 9.375 to qualify for state. We also hit our high team beam score of the year.
Floor
On floor, we just weren't hitting our skills. Three of the girls had errors on tumbling and jumps, Lorisa is not up to competing her usual skills. Even Sofia's routine didn't have her normal dynamics. We were just kind of flat.
Vault
We finished on vault and I saw the improvements we've been working on this week. McKenzie Kruse let the round with her tsuk. She had a beautiful first vault, but it wasn't her best. On her second she under rotated and didn't land as well as the first. She finished with 8.65 in sixth place, just shy of the fifth place cut off. We were very hopeful for her qualifying, and when she landed her first vault, we really thought she had it. Her second vault is usually better. That was not the case and we walked away from our final round disappointed.
Meet Summary
While we should not have finished behind Platteville, the errors we made would not have made up the difference for us to finish in second place. The girls went out there with all they had, competed with their hearts, their heads, and their expertise. They left it all on the floor, and should feel no regret. I am so proud of all they have been able to do fully masked 100% of the time - unlike some other competitors - and take it all in stride. They have not complained (at least to me!) and have honorably represented RVB Gymnastics. We had our high team score of the season, and walked out with our heads held high.
State Meet Comments
We are looking forward to Lorisa's competition at state. She was the state champ on beam in 2019, and has returned to about 80% of her pre-injury ability on beam and bars. She did not vault at all this year, or compete any twisting or power tumbling on floor.
This year state meet access is only granted to the gymnast, two coaches, and three spectators. Two sectionals will compete in the early afternoon session, the gym will be cleared, and the other two sectionals will compete in the late afternoon session. We won't know results until after the second session and there will not be an awards ceremony.
Dodgeville/Mineral Point/Iowa-Grant coach Julia Oellerich feels very fortunate to able to have the season get to the state meet level.
She said this after Sectionals.
"When I think back to the beginning of this season and consider the questions we had about the season. Would there be a winter sports season? And if there was would we be able to compete? Would there be a state tournament? And if there was, what would it look like? Fast forward to now and we are celebrating and preparing for Brooklyn Murphy's first state appearance, as a freshman to boot! It's quite incredible and feels a bit like a dream!
"Given how difficult our Sectional was this year, with the addition of two very talented teams, securing a place on the podium is a huge accomplishment! Brooklyn is a very talented gymnast, and works hard in the gym day in and day out to improve her skills and her routines. We've seen her grow so much this year, as a gymnast, especially with her confidence during competition and her ability to compete well under pressure. That's an incredible skill to accomplish, especially as a young gymnast competing against some of the best D2 athletes in the state. Brooklyn Murphy is definitely a name you'll be seeing a lot in the upcoming seasons!
"The team did very well at the Sectional competition as well. We knew we had a tough Sectional and securing a place on the podium as a team was likely out of reach. But even though they knew the odds, they never gave up hope. In fact, we had a season high team score of 129.8, which was a major accomplishment, given that one of our varisty gymnasts, Savannah Vivian, was out with an ankle injury. We saw several personal bests as well - Ashlie Baumgartner had career highs on floor (9.1) and beam (9.05), missing the podium by just .025. Emma Steffes had a career high on floor (8.5), as well as Makaya McCarthy (7.7). And Malea Aschliman had a career high on bars (6.45).
"I'm so proud of the effort they put in this year, especially since the season was filled with so many uncertainties.
"I want to thank the WIAA for their hard work and hours of consideration in structuring and hosting a state meet for our athletes. Sure, it's different than most years and isn't ideal but I'm so grateful they are giving these athletes an opportunity to compete at the highest high school level. Second, thank you to the Dodgeville School Board for their dedication to students and atheltes. I appreciate they time they've invested in ensuring a safe season for our athletes. And finally, a big thank you to the DHS custodial staff and Athletic Director for all of the help throughout the season moving equipment and helping us prepare for home meets. We couldn't have done it without your help!
TEAM RESULTS
1-Mount Horeb 144.1000
2-Reedsburg Area 136.5500
3-PBL 133.2500
4-River Valley Co-op 132.5750
5-DMPIG 129.8000
6-Sauk Prairie. 127.0500
7-Southwestern Co-op 123.9000
8-Baraboo 123.8500
Waupun 123.3000
10-Markesan 116.1250
11-Monona Grove 115.8750
VAULTING
RV/B RESULTS
6-McKenzie Kruse 8.675
14-Sofia Sanftleben 8.225
17-Morgan Bowell 8.175
21-Katie Forseth 8.125
26-Emily Noble 8.075
DMPIG
19-Brooklyn Murphy 8.150
30-Emma Steffes 8.050
34-Ashlie Baumgartner 8.025
47-Makaya McCarthy 7.675
50-Liliana Vivian 7.600
FLOOR EXERCISE
RV/B
12-Lorisa Shatrawka 8.875
22-Sofia Sanftleben 8.425
26-Katie Forseth 8.350
33-Emily Noble 8.250
44-McKenzie Kruse 7.750
DMPIG
8-Ashlie Baumgartner 9.100
10-Brooklyn Murphy 9.050
20-Emma Steffes 8.500
39-Malea Aschliman 7.925
46-Makaya McCarthy 7.700
BALANCE BEAM
RV/B
2-Lorisa Shatrawka 9.375
18-Sofie Santfleben 8.150
21-Emily Noble 8.050
23-McKenzie Kruse 8.000
35-Katie Forseth 7.625
DMPIG
5-Brooklyn Murphy 9.075
6-Ashlie Baumgartner 9.050
29-Emma Steffes 7.825
41-Lilian Vivian 7.000
46-Makaya McCarthy 6.700
UNEVEN BARS
RV/B
2-Lorisa Shatrawka 8.750
15-Sofia Sanftleben 7.900
21-McKenzie Kruse 7.650
22-Emily Noble 7.600
34-Madison Krey 7.075
DMPIG
4-Brooklyn Murphy 8.600
13-Ashlie Baumgartner 8.000
31-Emma Steffes 7.325
42-Malea Aschliman 6.450
55-Makaya McCarthy 4.325
ALL AROUND
RV/B
16-Sofia Sanftleben 32.700
21-McKenzie Kruse 32.075
22-Emily Noble 31.975
DMPIG
6-Brooklyn Murphy 34.875
9-Ashlie Baumgartner 34.175
24-Emma Steffes 31.700
34-Makaya McCarthy 26.400