Reigning Champ Hartland Ready to Follow Senior Standouts as Repeat March Begins
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
February 27, 2026
Forget about a rebuilding year. For Hartland's gymnastics team, it's been more a matter of reloading.
A year after a veteran Eagles lineup swept to an MHSAA Finals team title, Hartland may again be in familiar waters entering Saturday's Regional meet at East Lansing.
Gone are seven seniors from the 2025 champs who totaled much of the Eagles' 148.75 points, which outdistanced runner-up Rockford's 145.525. But with enough returning talent combined with nine promising freshmen and sophomores, Hartland – which has already claimed the Kensington Lakes Activities Association title – is likely again primed to be the team to chase again at the Regional.
"It's kind of flipped this year with the freshmen and sophomores," coach Gavin Kress said. "We've got some good leaders who've provided leadership; last year we had veterans. Now we're on the newbie side, and it's a lot to adjust to."
Two of those returnees – Alexis Fundich and Kate Gostlin – have been mainstays for the Eagles. Fundich won all-around at conference after finishing first on everything except vault, while Gostlin won vault and was second in all-around. She finished first in vault at the team's biggest meets at Canton and Milford, including with season-best 9.7 on bars.
Gostlin also is unbeaten in vault, having posted scores of 9.7 and 9.5 in two key meets. "When it comes to being a competitor, she's it," Kress said of Gostlin.
A year ago, Fundich had a remarkable Individual Finals, winning floor and finishing second on beam on the way to finishing second in the Division 1 all-around with a score of 38.100. Gostlin was 12th in the Division 1 all-around, with a championship on vault (9.725). During the team competition the night before, Fundich led the Eagles’ championship surge with a meet best 38.425 al-around.
Fundich said having a younger team after relying on seniors a year ago could have been a tricky proposition. But everything has worked out well, she noted.
"Losing the seniors was hard, but we have some new freshmen and sophomores and also some juniors who have more skills now," she said. "All that has definitely helped."
Like any sports team, it's all a matter of growth. And that's where the team's seniors have greatly contributed.
"We've had to mature. There are a lot of new things. But now they've gotten used to it and they've been better," Fundich said of the underclassmen.
A level 10 club gymnast, Fundich has had to divide her season between club and high school levels. It's a schedule which she's gotten used to, and indeed she has thrived.
"There are more hours and I've had to work," she said, "but it's worth it."
Gostlin, who was 10th in vault at the 2025 Finals, said the team's younger members have grasped what it'll take to repeat as team champ. Those gymnasts saw that firsthand a year ago but find themselves needing to take a step forward this season.
"We all have to work harder to get back to winning a title," Gostlin said. "This is my senior year, and it's one of my goals. There is definitely more pressure this year. But I think we've been better and more consistent. It's been a little harder with a ton of new people, but we know we still have to work."
Even though the younger gymnasts were on the team a year ago, Kress said that didn’t guarantee success this season. The younger athletes have experienced success with a senior-dominated group – but unless they recognize how to utilize that success, improvement doesn't necessarily follow.
"There's a lot to that. A lot don't understand, so we have to teach them how to keep going," he said. "That's why having (Gostlin and Fundich) has been so beneficial."
PHOTOS (Top) Hartland’s Alexis Fundich readies for a vault attempt during last season’s MHSAA Team Final. (Middle) Teammate Kate Gostlin vaults on the way to winning the Division 1 title in the event at the Individual Finals. (Below) The Eagles stand together for a photo after winning the KLAA championship this season. (Action photos by High School Sports Scene. Team photo courtesy of the Hartland athletic department.)
Escanaba Vaulting Into Regional off Program-Record Team Score
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
March 4, 2022
ESCANABA — The Escanaba gymnasts are enjoying a record-breaking season as they head into MHSAA Tournament competition.
The team has turned in five school scoring records, with its most recent at Negaunee on Feb. 21 in earning the Great Northern Conference title with 135.05 points.
They’re looking forward to the Regional meet Saturday at Rockford.
“Before the season I couldn’t even imagine getting scores that high,” said sophomore Sophia Wagner, who won vault with a perfect 9.4 score Dec. 7 in a dual meet at Negaunee. “Our team scores have been above 120 points all year. We all push each other to get better. I think qualifying for the Regionals as a team was our biggest highlight. Getting that done early gave us more time to work on new skills. This has been an exciting season.”
All this has taken place during a year in which Escanaba gymnastics is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
“The girls are driving each other to get better in every practice,” said coach Theresa Pascoe. “When you can practice every day on a spring floor (at Triple A Gymnastics), it makes you want to get better. What’s making our team so much stronger is having newer equipment. You can only go so far on older equipment.
“It seems like the girls want to practice all the time. One time I gave them a day off and they all showed up. They want to do all the things the girls do downstate. If the girls want to do more, that’s my motivation to be here.”
They achieved their previous best score while winning their own invitational Feb. 5 with 134.1 points.
“That’s a great feeling,” said senior Lizzy Sliva, whose personal-best score in vault is 9.3. “It’s a lot of fun being on this team. We were able to qualify for the Team Regionals within our first four meets which is important because there’s a lot of stress at first. Once we did that, I was able to focus on getting my routines cleaner and adding difficulty. I want to keep challenging myself in all four events.”
In their previous outing, the Eskymos were runners-up at the Vassar Invitational on Feb. 19.
On Jan. 29, they placed sixth among 10 teams in the Antigo, Wis., Invitational, which is among the oldest meets in the region.
“That was a big accomplishment,” said Sliva. “Valders (Wis.) Invitational is similar to Antigo. Valders and Coldwater (Invitationals) are fun meets. The competition downstate is just as good as in Wisconsin. It’s a lot of fun going down there and competing on a spring floor.
Senior Caitlyn Davenport had similar thoughts.
“This season has really been exciting,” she said. “I’m proud to be part of this team. This has definitely been our best season. Everybody has come together and been helping each other. Qualifying for the Team Regional has taken a lot of the pressure off. It feels like we’ve been making a lot of progress. I’ve been at a lot of open gyms and done weight training during the offseason. I think we’re pretty close with the teams in Wisconsin, and going downstate has definitely gotten us more experience.”
Escanaba’s score at the GNC meet was nearly eight points better than last year’s highest (127.1).
“This has been a great year,” said sophomore Bridget Bichler. “We have a real strong team. We’ve made a real big jump from last year. When we broke 130, it was real exciting. It was a great confidence builder, and to be able to get high scores downstate is real encouraging. We got a compliment from one judge in Coldwater who told us how impressed he was with our team. It’s a great feeling.”
The gymnasts also gained experience from other venues, according to Pascoe.
“Five of our girls have competed in age group programs in USA Gymnastics,” she said. “Several are doing kips on beam, which is something that doesn’t happen very often. For so many years we had been near the bottom in Wisconsin meets. Now we’re holding our own. We have a very small team in numbers (eight), but most of the girls have been in gymnastics nearly all their lives. We have a lot of experience.”
Freshman Sophie Lehto said she has noticed a major change from the younger levels.
“This has been a great learning experience,” she said. “We’ve been working on a lot more skills and more difficult skills. There’s a lot more development, and the competition is very different. It was a significant step.”
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.
PHOTOS (Top) Escanaba celebrates its Great Northern Conference team gymnastics championship last month. (Middle) Caitlyn Davenport competes on balance beam during an early February meet with Negaunee. (Top photo courtesy of Escanaba gymnastics, middle courtesy of the Escanaba Daily Press.)