This year the Wagner-Bon Homme gymnastics team is led by Head Coach Cherie Petry who has been coaching for 22 years. Petry will be assisted by CJ McNinch, who is in her first year of coaching. This year’s team only has four high school members, none of which are seniors. Juniors on the team include Amelia Rathgeber and Addison Cuka. Hayden Wren and Roper Lhotak are the team’s sophomores. Eighth grade team members are Julia Krug, Jayce Slade, Aubry Williams, Dusti Laska and Isabella Kotab. Seventh grade team members include Aspyn Schroeder, Emma McNinch, Eva Freidel, Sophie Jensen and Hallie Roberts.

The team did not participate in any camps or activities in the off season, but are planning to hold a Little Raiders Gymnastics Camp spring of 2025. The great thing about this year’s season is that all of the regular season meets are home except for three. The Raiders ended last year’s season not making it to state as a team. Even though this year features many younger team members, it in no way takes away from the team’s goal of making it to the state tournament. Both the coaches and student-athletes know they will have to put in a lot of hard work to accomplish this goal.

Coach Petry is looking forward to this season, because she knows that the team is a fun group of girls. In gymnastics, in order for the team to do well, the top four competitors must do well. As a team the girls are working to improve day by day and meet by meet. The coaches are not going to be too worried about scores, instead they want to focus on the body shapes and skills that each individual needs to improve upon. It is Coach Petry’s belief that in order for any athlete to be successful it takes drive, hard-work, stamina and knowing oneself. Petry tries to encourage a sense of ownership of the athlete’s ability in order to help the athlete improve at a much greater rate and to experience more enjoyment from the sport. The team is a big part of gymnastics. It is important for the team to build strong relationships with all of its members. It is Petry’s hope that team members can improve themselves a little each time they are in the gym, learning from mistakes which will help them accomplish anything they put their minds to on and off the mat.

Best of luck in your upcoming season ladies! The Wagner- Bon Homme gymnastics team somersaults into their season with their first match away against Vermillion on December 27th. Go Big Red!