Arrowhead Gymnastics: Conference Championships

For the Arrowhead Gymnastics team, JV Conference will be on Thursday the 18th at 5:30 pm at Mukwonago High School. Varsity is also invited to compete at Conference. For the JV girls, this will be there last meet of the season.

For some of the JV girls, their time competing this season is over as only five girls can compete per event — including uneven bars, beam, vault, and floor — and there will not be enough positions available for every gymnast to compete.

However, some girls have been asked to compete for an exhibition position, where there are two positions available per event. Exhibition gymnasts are judged regularly, but their score is not included in JV’s final team score which determines the team’s place value.

One JV gymnast who is competing is Arrowhead sophomore Caitlyn Kleczka, who says, “I think Conference will go pretty well if we try our best and really give it our all.”

Freshman Brooke Gohde says, “I think we’ll do good. The team is very excited and we’re having our last pasta party [Friday the 12th] and there’s going to be a lot of team bonding.”

Emile Graff, an Arrowhead senior gymnast, says, “I think conference will go good. I feel like our team is prepared and ready to do our best.”

For Graff, as well as all JV seniors, this will be their last gymnastics meet at Arrowhead, possibly ever. And it is a sentimental moment for all of them.

“I’m excited for the meet, but I’m just not sure I’m ready for the season to be over for the last time,” says Graff.

Usually, Coach Robert Pulkowski will put in his best gymnasts into their best event, but this meet especially Pulkowski is trying to have as many seniors as possible compete

“I’m doing floor,” says Kleczka.

“I am competing beam at conference,” says Graff.

Gohde says, “[I’m probably] going to do floor to compete at conference.”

Gymnastics meets can always be stressful for gymnasts, as it is a chance for gymnasts to put their latest and greatest routines to the test. With conference approaching, how is JV fairing under the pressure?

“No, I’m not more nervous because it’s just like any other meet,” says Kleczka, who still has two more gymnastics seasons ahead of her.

Graff says, “I’m not more nervous for conference compared to previous meets. I think there is definitely some added pressure because this is JV’S last meet.

As for Gohde, “I’m kinda nervous, because it’s the last meet of the season and I want to make it count.”

In the last four years of Arrowhead Gymnastics, JV has never won the Conference meet. This year there are more JV gymnast and others who offer more skills. Will JV have a chance of winning this year?

“If we put our best people out and hit everything, I think we have a pretty good chance at getting maybe in top three,” says Kleczka.

Graff says, “I think JV has a very good chance at winning conference. Lately, our scores have been high and we have filled all the spots on every event. So I do think getting first place is highly achievable.”

Although it is the Junior Varsity Conference Meet, both Varsity and JV gymnasts will be competing. Although some Varsity girls will be sitting out for this meet, as the meet will not affect whether Varsity gymnastics goes onto Sectionals.

“I think for certain events and certain people it is fair for them to compete with us as JV,” says Klecka, referring to the number of lower classmen on the Varsity team this season.

Graff says, “I think it’s fair that varsity will be competing with JV at this meet I think it will be good for our team to be together one last time before the season ends and it will be nice to have both teams there to cheer each other on.”