Waunakee/DeForest wins first conference title since 2011

History is in the making for the Waunakee/DeForest co-op gymnastics team.

Taking on the Badger-Conference championship meet on Saturday, Feb. 21, at Waunakee High School, Waunakee/DeForest delivered a meet-high 141.275 team points, claiming their first conference title since 2011.

Their first-place score of 141.275 not only secured gold honors, but it also set a new school record. But what makes this achievement even more unique is who they took the record from: Themselves.

The previous record, 140.4, stood long and proud in the record books for less than two months. Waunakee/DeForest broke that initial record Jan. 6 during their dual meet win against Reedsburg.

But getting to break that record on arguably the biggest stage to date this season? That’s quite the feat.

Leading Waunakee/DeForest on Saturday afternoon was fueled by two athletes leaving the mat as individual conference champions: Annika Lee and Claire Strayer.

Notably, Lee claimed three conference titles, thanks to first-place finishes in all-around scoring, the vault and the floor. Lee scored a meet-high 37.225 points in all-around scoring, while scoring a 9.525 on the vault and a 9.65 on the floor.

Meanwhile, Strayer claimed a conference title on the bars, delivering a meet-high score of 9.1. Strayer finished second in all-around scoring with a total score of 36.275. Other notable finishes from Strayer include a second-place finish on the vault (9.275) and a third-place finish on the floor (9.15).

But to reach 141.275 team points — and narrowly outscore second-place Mount Horeb’s 140.5 team points — there’s no question it had to take a team-wide effort.

That’s where Autumn Falb comes into play, who placed 10th in all-around scoring with 33.65 points. In all four events, Falb never finished with a score of under eight points. Her highest score on Saturday was on the vault, where she scored an 8.525.

In addition to Falb, Katelyn Soderling scored a 17.2 in all-around scoring, while Kaci Ugalde was right behind her with an all-around score of 17.05. Notably, Soderling scored an 8.95 on the beams, while Ugalde notched a notable finish on the beams, too, thanks to a score of 8.65.

Waunakee/DeForest co-op will begin Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) state tournament play on Thursday, Feb. 26, at Sun Prairie West High School in Sectionals. According to the WIAA, Waunakee/DeForest is in Sectional No. 2 of the Division 1 field.

Qualified teams and/or individuals will then head to the 2026 state gymnastics meet from Friday, March 6, through Saturday, March 7, at Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High School. The team competition portion of the tournament will take place on Friday, while the individual competition portion will take place on Saturday.

2026 Badger Conference gymnastics meet team scores

-- scores are courtesy of scoreflippers.com

1.) Waunakee/DeForest: 141.275

2.) Mount Horeb: 140.5

3.) Monona Grove: 134.05

4.) Watertown: 133.0

5.) Baraboo: 131.725

6.) Reedsburg: 127.5

7.) Milton: 122.275

8.) Sauk Prairie: 118.925