Performance: Grand Ledge's Rachel Hogan
February 11, 2016
Rachel Hogan
Grand Ledge senior – Gymnastics
Hogan finished 10th, second (by a tenth of a point) and third in MHSAA Finals Division 1 all-around competitions her first three seasons of high school, respectively, making her a strong favorite to claim the championship heading into this winter. A sprained right ankle before the first meet has slowed her down a bit – but she re-established herself as a top contender by winning Saturday’s Canton Invitational Division 1 championship with an all-around score of 38.225, earning the Michigan National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
The event annually is considered the most competitive of the regular season, featuring most of the best gymnasts from across the state, and Hogan also won Division 1 as a junior. This time, she finished first on vault scoring a 9.7, first on uneven parallel bars at 9.625, won balance beam at 9.5, and finished second on the floor exercise with a 9.4 – despite holding back some of her toughest skills as her ankle continues to heal. Her team as a whole is struggling through injuries and finished sixth.
Hogan has won five individual MHSAA Finals championships during her career – Division 1 vault twice, floor twice and bars once. Adding another next month at Rockford would give the Comets at least one individual Division 1 champion for a 10th straight season, and she’s also going for her school’s ninth Division 1 all-around championship over the last 14 seasons. She was a freshman when Grand Ledge won its sixth straight team championship in 2013, and she scored the top all-around score of last season’s Team Final to help the Comets to third place – a surprising finish because Grand Ledge only qualified for the Final as the top-scoring fourth-place Regional finisher. Hogan also has played the flute since middle school and been part of Grand Ledge’s marching band the last four years. She carries a 3.89 grade-point average and is planning to attend Michigan State University after graduation to study packaging engineering.
Coach Duane Haring said: “She’s a tough little kid. We didn’t let her do much (before Canton); we couldn’t. She’s the one who actually pushed herself to get where she is right now. There are so many athletes I know, and I’ve coached some, who have a little pain and they’re done or go 50 percent. Rachel said, ‘My ankle hurts, but I’m still going to practice and do everything.’ And she is. She has never given up, never ever.”
Performance Point: “As a team, we could’ve done better, but we are all injured right now; I’m definitely not the only person with a sprained ankle. Me personally, it was a really good comeback meet. I think as a team, for that meet, we realized we have to start stepping it up, modifying some of our routines, even if we’re injured so we can get through stuff and get the scores we need.”
‘Tough little kid’: “I think a lot of it comes from a drive. Something has to motivate you. I know my coach motivates me a lot. He’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever had. He puts so much time into us, and we really have to give that back to him somehow. I need to do my best … and that’s for the team, too.”
Be the example: “I definitely try to lead by example. I try to be more of a friend to them than a leader, so I can be a person they can talk to, so they can trust me. When they’re struggling with something, they can come to me, and I’ll help them get through that. I hope I’m motivation for them; they see me doing my best, working hard, and they will do that as well. They’re getting there.”
Veteran voice: “I’ve learned to never give up. Because over the years we’ve lost our strongest gymnasts, but the gymnasts we have, we should never give up on them, never think they don’t have potential, because they all do. It’s good to almost expect more out of them than they think, because it gives them that confidence. They’ll do their best things when people aren’t expecting them.”
Next in Comets’ Legacy: “There’s a little bit of pressure that comes with that. Those gymnasts were such good gymnasts. I look up to them a lot. (Coach Haring) always tells us stories about his top gymnasts. It’s always cool to hear how much they accomplished, and you can tell he gets really excited about us doing well. Especially when he’s talking about his past gymnasts, I want him to talk about us to his future gymnasts.”
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2015-16 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our Nation's freedom, or protecting lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2015-16 honorees
Feb. 3: Nehemiah Mork, Midland Dow swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 27: Mardrekia Cook, Muskegon girls basketball - Read
Jan. 20: Sage Castillo, Hartland wrestling - Read
Jan. 13: Rob Zofchak, Dexter swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 6: Tyler Deming, Caro wrestling – Read
Dec. 15: Jordan Weber, East Jordan boys basketball – Read
Dec. 8: Kaitlyn Geers, Kent City girls basketball – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Ledge's Rachel Hogan competes in floor exercise. (Middle) Hogan performs her balance beam routine. (Photos by Marvin Hall Photography.)
Team Growing, Scores Rising as Bark River-Harris Continues to Build in 2nd Season
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
January 6, 2025
ESCANABA —Bark River-Harris gymnastics is only a few meets into its second season as a program. But the Broncos are quickly and impressively building on last year’s debut.
The second-year program is growing – now offering cooperative program opportunities for athletes from Iron Mountain, Powers North Central, Escanaba Holy Name and Gladstone – and at the Dec. 7 Escanaba Elks Invitational scored a school-record 125.80 points, which also counted as the program’s first-ever team-qualifying score for Regional competition.
“Our level of competition has improved,” coach Alex Zelenak said. “We started last year with five girls, and now we have 10. This helps our depth, although it gets tricky when it gets down to the wire. You have to decide who’s going to some meets.
“We’re just trying to find our way in the early-season meets. We’re also trying to work on our skills and execution, for example staying on (balance) beam, and I think we’ve made some progress. What you put into it is what you get out of it.”
Iron Mountain junior Lucy Baumgartner returned from last year’s team and after qualifying for the 2024 Regionals in Division 2 all-around.
“This is pretty far away, but I’ve been doing gymnastics since I was 4 years old,” she said. “I sometimes drive myself or my mom will drive me over here, depending on the weather. Being able to do this last year really helped. I have a better idea what to expect.”
Baumgartner won vault at the Elks Invitational with a score of 9.2 and uneven bars with an 8.6, and was runner-up on beam (8.3) and in all-around (34.55). She said beam is probably her strongest event.
“I’ve always been pretty shaky, but gained confidence since last year,” she added. “I’m happy with the way the season is going. My floor (exercise) has been a little off because of my (sore) ankle, but it goes with the territory.”
“Lucy is outstanding and very dedicated,” Zelenak added. “Her execution is impeccable. We’re right there with them. I’m excited for the rest of the season.”
Gladstone senior Kristy Karl, a newcomer to the program, placed fourth in all-around (31.55) at Escanaba.
“That was quite a boost,” she said. “I’m waiting for the next qualifier (Friday at Linden). I had never competed in gymnastics before. It’s nice to have this opportunity. This has mostly been a learning experience, but our coach knows a lot.
“This is definitely a lot different from what I expected. Everybody is so quiet during your routines. They want everyone to succeed. It’s nice to be part of a team. I never expected this to happen.”
Karl believes floor exercise is her strongest event.
“That’s probably because I do competitive cheer for Gladstone,” she said. “I come from cheer practice, then my sister (Maggie) and I come here as much as we can. I definitely need to work on beam the most. It's mental. The beam is 42 inches off the floor. Sometimes you just have to do it. It’s the only way to overcome that mental block.”
Zelenak is happy with the team’s overall progress.
“Kristy got a qualifying score on beam, and Maggie came close in two events,” she said. “We have practice two days a week for the dual-sport athletes. It’s hard on the body. You’ve got to have rest days.”
BR-H sophomore Zoey Jorasz also made the Division 2 Regional last season, competing on vault, and joins her teammates in being thankful for this opportunity.
“It’s really cool having more girls,” she said. “You have a chance to make friends from the other schools.
“Vault is probably my strongest event. It’s also my favorite event because you can try different things. There’s lot of options. I think the season is going pretty good, but (I) need to gain confidence on floor. I need one more qualifying score for Regionals in vault.”
North Central sophomore Addysyn DeAngelo did middle school gymnastics in North Dakota.
“I never expected to have this opportunity,” she said. “I moved from North Dakota in eighth grade. This is a big change. When I was younger, gymnastics wasn’t as hard. We pretty much stuck to the basics. This is a good learning experience. You have to be real disciplined. You also have to be willing to come to all practices.
“This has been a pretty good experience. I made a lot of new friends and like the girls I’m working with. … I think it will be fun to go downstate. I haven’t been down there much. That will be a chance to make some new friends.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTO The Bark River-Harris gymnastics team takes a photo after finishing runner-up at the Escanaba Elks Invitational. (Photo courtesy of the Bark River-Harris gymnastics program.)