Annika Rufenacht wins two gymnastics state titles and helps Verona/Edgewood to its best finish ever
VERONA, Wis. (BVM) 鈥� Annika Rufenacht did not disappoint in her first appearance at the WIAA Division 1 gymnastics state meet. The sophomore for Verona Area Madison Edgewood (VAME) gymnastics won two individual state titles in the vault with a score of 9.633 and the all-around competition with a score of 38.116.
鈥淚t just feels amazing. It鈥檚 not something I expected to happen but I鈥檓 glad it did and it鈥檚 really exciting,鈥� Rufenacht said.
Rufenacht鈥檚 performance helped VAME reach its best finish ever at the state meet, placing second at state and just three points behind state champions Franklin/Muskego. For a team that placed fifth last year at state in their first ever appearance in the meet, it was above and beyond what the team鈥檚 original goal was.
鈥淥ur goals for the season were to get back to the state meet and try to top last year’s performance,鈥� VAME head coach Rachael Hauser said. 鈥淎t the beginning of the season, that just meant fourth place or higher, but as we moved through the season and got a better idea of this team’s potential, that goal evolved to really mean a top-two finish.鈥�
One of the reasons for the evolution of their original goal was the addition of Rufenacht to the team. The sophomore gymnast joined the team after making the decision to step away from club gymnastics.
鈥淚 decided high school would be a better option because it鈥檚 not as individually based and more of a team sport,鈥� Rufenacht said.
Rufenacht has been competing at the club level since she started doing gymnastics when she was seven years old. It was then that she fell in love with the sport.
鈥業 just had an instant love for it,鈥� Rufenacht said.
From there she continued to compete and even reached the highest levels of club gymnastics. However, along with her desire to be a part of a more team oriented version of gymnastics, Rufenacht also had made the decision that she didn’t want to do gymnastics at the collegiate level, so she joined the VAME team.
鈥淭he team goals were going to be the same with or without Annika in the lineup, but she definitely added to our ability to accomplish, and in many cases, exceed those goals,鈥� Hauser said.
Her skills on vault and the bars were a huge help although it wasn鈥檛 smooth sailing right away. The adjustment took some time but Rufenacht was able to make them and began to thrive in competitions. Outside of competitions, the team bonding and environment around the VAME team made the transition a phone one.
鈥淚t made the transition easy,鈥� Rufenacht said.
As Rufenacht got acclimated, the team began to realize the potential they had. With scores from other teams coming out, they realized they could do much better than just fourth place at state. The goal quickly became to take second at state.
With that in mind, VAME won conference and sectionals and then came the state meet where the team overcame some surprising setbacks to take second.
鈥淲e had some uncharacteristic falls on beam that certainly could’ve opened the door in the race for top spots,鈥� Hauser said. 鈥淪o when it came to awards at the end of the meet, it was honestly a surprise and a huge relief that we were able to hang onto that second-place spot.鈥�
With back-to-back seasons of improvement, the obvious goal for the VAME team is to at the very least repeat the success of this season. The team will have multiple gymnasts returning, including Rufenacht who will have a year of competing at the high school level under her belt. The future looks bright for VAME and its reigning two-time individual state champion.
