Gymnastics Could Take Flight in UP
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
February 12, 2016
ESCANABA — Gymnastics is showing signs of growth on the club level in the Upper Peninsula.
Will some of that eventually lead to a larger number of high school programs north of the Mackinac Bridge?
Nearly 20 U.P. high schools offered gymnastics at one time.
That number is now down to three with Escanaba, Marquette and Negaunee as the remaining programs.
“I’m excited that club gymnastics is growing up here and serving as a feeder to the high school programs,” Negaunee coach Eyre Becker said. “I’m hoping the three programs will keep going strong and serve as motivation for other schools to bring back their programs. I would like to see Gladstone and Menominee bring back their programs and schools like Houghton start a high school program. I would hate to think of all that equipment rotting in a warehouse somewhere.”
Theresa Pascoe, who coaches a self-funded program at Escanaba, has similar thoughts.
“I would like to see some of the old schools pick it up again,” she said. “If we continue to operate gymnastics clubs, the high school programs are only going to get stronger. We need the feeder programs to keep them heading in the right direction.
“I don’t know if the number of programs we have up here will change, but I do know we have some parents from Gladstone and Rapid River who would like to see their children compete at the high school level. This biggest thing is finding a qualified coach.”
This could be a time of opportunity for Upper Peninsula high school gymnastics, with clubs in Marquette and Escanaba but also Houghton and Baraga, where schools don’t have programs.
“It would be nice to see high school teams in those areas. I just don’t know what their thoughts are,” Marquette coach Kris Lakenen said. “Hopefully with this being an Olympic year, we’ll see even more interest.”
And the benefits of competing at the high school level are easy to list for current Upper Peninsula athletes.
“We try to be like a family up here and cheer each other on,” Marquette sophomore Kiah Staley said. “Getting to hang out with your teammates and going to all the meets is also a lot of fun because we get a chance to bond.”
After graduating from Father Marquette Middle School last spring, gymnastics helped ease the transition into high school for freshman teammate Morgan Johnson.
“Coming from Father Marquette to a public school was a big change,” she said. “The size of our entire grade was about the same as one class at Marquette High. We still have each other from Father Marquette, only there weren’t as many sports at the Catholic school. Now we have a lot more options and there are more people to push you to work harder. … Everyone is real nice, and it’s very energizing.”
Escanaba sophomore Karlie Ohman switched from competitive cheer to gymnastics a year ago. “I’ve always helped out at gymnastics camps,” she said. “I love it. It’s really fun.
“My favorite events are the balance beam and floor exercise. It was very scary to go up on the beam and perform at first, but you just have to get over your fears. I really enjoy tumbling and putting together floor routines. I also enjoy going on the (uneven) bars, but I need to get better strength and work on getting higher points.”
Escanaba’s leader, junior Lindsey Taylor, won vault with 8.7 points in a dual meet with Negaunee on Jan. 27.
“I was in gymnastics with (former Marquette standout) Rylee Doucette two years ago and she did very well," Taylor said. "I always watched her and she would help me and tell me how to get better."
Negaunee senior Hope Rosten also enjoys the camaraderie among the gymnasts.
“Gymnastics is unique that way,” said the Miners’ team captain. “I would definitely like to see more teams up here. I think that would help the teams in the U.P. … I like the competitiveness and feeling of a team. Our teammates are real supportive.”
Sophomore Kalli Mattson had similar feelings after Negaunee’s victory in Escanaba.
“I think we’re well rounded as a team,” she said. “We just have a lot of fun. It’s nice having all the support from your teammates and having the other teams support you.”
PHOTOS: (Top) A Negaunee gymnast performs her balance beam routine at a meet this season at Escanaba. (Middle) Negaunee's Hope Rosten does her parallel uneven bars routine. (Photos courtesy of Negaunee athletic department.)
Consistently Strong in Every Event, Ruffing Proves Best All-Around
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
March 12, 2022
WHITE LAKE TOWNSHIP — Talk about a surprise.
Morgan Ruffing of the Livonia Red co-op team knew her all-around score, and sat patiently during the awards ceremony at Saturday’s individual gymnastics championship meet at Lakeland High School.
“I was like, ‘They haven’t gotten to my score yet,’” she said. “And then they called the second-place score, and I was like, ‘There’s no way.’”
As it turned out, that was the way. Ruffing had won the Division 1 all-around title.
“I was in disbelief the whole time,” she said of her standing atop the medal stand. “I couldn’t believe this was happening.
Ruffing didn’t win an event, but finished among the top five in each of the four events to total a score of 37.525, a half-point ahead of Grand Ledge’s Alaina Yaney, who was second.
Yaney won the vault but slipped to second with a tie for eighth in the floor exercise.
Lacey Scheid of Rockford, last year’s runner-up, won the floor exercise and the balance beam, but finished well out of the top 10 in the parallel bars, which sent her to third all-around.
It was the beam where Ruffing was able to come back from a disappointing performance in Friday’s team meet when she fell attempting a wolf three-quarter turn.
“The pressure got to her,” Livonia Red coach Mandy Brown said. “It was her last event (Friday) and it came down to her routine. (Saturday), I switched it up and had her starting toward the beginning of the beam lineup so she didn’t feel as much pressure.”
A little intentional amnesia didn’t hurt, either.
“Yeah,” Ruffing said, chuckling at the use of “amnesia.” “I just wanted to focus on one event at a time. If I mess up one event, then just forget about it and go on with my next event.”
Ruffing hit the wolf three-quarter in Saturday’s individual meet. She was fourth in the vault (9.425), fifth on the bars (9.150), fourth on the beam (9.3) and second on the floor (9.65).
Consistency won the day, even if it came as a surprise to the winner.
“My goal, coming in, was top three,” Ruffing said. “I didn’t know (winning) was going to happen. I was totally caught off guard.”
Instead, she moved from third last year to a title that was a most pleasant surprise.
Yaney, who went in expecting to contend for the title, also finished fourth on bars and third on beam on the way to her runner-up all-around score.
“I was hoping for first,” she said. “But second is OK.”
All three top finishers are juniors, which could make the 2023 Finals very interesting, indeed.
Ruffing’s teammate, Avery Boyk, was the other individual event winner, taking first in the parallel bars.
In Division 2, Rockford’s Anna Tracey won the all-around with a 36.325 score while taking first on beam and second on bars.
Lydia Beaton of Grand Ledge (36.150) was second all-around, taking first on vault and floor. Howell’s Maria Petru won the Division 2 bars.
PHOTOS (Top) Livonia Red’s Morgan Ruffing performs here beam routine during Saturday’s Individual Finals at White Lake Lakeland. (Middle) Rockford’s Anna Tracey completes her floor routine. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)