The Wagner/Bon Homme gymnastics team kicked off their 2023-2024 season with an away meet Saturday, December 2nd against Vermillion. The next meet will be Saturday, December 9th, when the team will host a home tournament in Wagner starting at 11:00 a.m.

The Wagner gymnastics team’s head coach is Cherie Petry and she is assisted by Britney Schroeder. It is Cherie’s 21st year coaching and Britney’s first year.

The gymnastics team is comprised of a small number of girls, but the girls are strong and very competitive. The seniors for this year are Mia Dion, Alexys Rueb and Raelynn Kuhlman. Sophomores include Amelia Rathgeber, Addison Cuka and Kalea Kuhlman. The freshmen team members are Jasmine Ruelas- Gilbert and Roper Lhotak.

Last season, the team finished 7th place at state and Alexys Rueb became the state beam champion title holder. This year the team’s goal is to place in the top four at state. It takes all four well rounded members for the team to do well. Alexys will be a force to be reckoned with. She is stronger and her routines are cleaner than ever. Jasmine Ruelas-Gilbert is an up and comer to be on the lookout for that Coach Petry feels will be making herself known to the South Dakota gymnastics world. Jasmine is a strong athlete with big goals and a work ethic to match.

Coach Petry sees the Madison Invitational as one of the most intense meets of the season. It will be a great meet to get the girls ready for state. As a coach, Cherie is looking forward to every day in the gym with this group of girls. The girls get along so well and push each other to keep pushing themselves. Coach Petry’s coaching philosophy is that patience, preparation, understanding, perseverance and team unity are what is needed for any team to be successful.

Best of luck on your upcoming season!