While sports like basketball have traditionally taken center stage in March, once upon a time March was the time to shine for Alpena’s boys gymnastics team.

Between 1976 and 1982, Alpena’s boys gymnastics team won four state titles and finished runner-up three times. For the better part of a decade, the Wildcats were one of the best teams in the state and routinely churned out all-state and all-American athletes.

This month marks 40 years since Alpena’s last gymnastics title, but the memories of those successes are still fresh in the minds of those who were a part of them.

Jack Discher can still remember the roar of the crowd during the 1977 state final, the voices of hundreds of fans cheering the Wildcats.

Courtesy Photo A print of The News’ sports page from March 7, 1977 announces Alpena High’s boys gymnastics state title triumph. Between 1976 and 1982, the Wildcats were one of the state’s most dominant teams, winning four titles and finishing runner-up three times.

“I’ll never forget when we walked into the gym, the crowd started cheering and immediately went to their feet while cheering us on. It was really exciting!” Discher, who coached Alpena from 1967-1977, said. “Nobody could believe how loyal the Alpena crowd was to stay the entire length (6-7 hours) of the meet. It was an event nobody will ever forget.”

Alpena was the team to beat in 1977 and Discher’s Wildcats wowed a hometown crowd of 2,700 to win its first state championship. Bill Romstadt (trampoline) and Ray Werda (parallel bars) won individual titles and the Wildcats also set a team record with a score of 149.93.

Alpena’s gymnastics program won AAU titles in 1957 and 1959, finished as state runners-up in 1967 and 1976 and had several gymnasts win individual state championships under Discher and his successor, Ray Timm.

But the 1977 title put Alpena over the hump as a team after some near misses and set the stage for an impressive run over the next five years.

The Wildcats quest for a second straight title in 1978 was foiled in Ann Arbor by a familiar face.

Courtesy Photo A sign from Harborside Mall in 1977 informs passers-by of the upcoming 1977 state gymnastics final in Alpena.

Though three Wildcats won individual state championships and Timm was named coach of the year, it was Kurt Golder’s Ann Arbor Huron squad that walked away with the title, topping Alpena 148.9 to 138.88.

Golder, an Alpena High graduate, went on to coach at the University of Michigan and won four national titles in 25 years.

For Alpena, Chuck Timm (pommel horse), Dave Cook (horizontal bars) and Scott Winder (trampoline) took top honors.

In 1979, the Wildcats were foiled yet again, this time losing to Ann Arbor Pioneer by the slimmest of margins, 146.65 to 146.40, and didn’t have an individual state champion.

Those near misses served as motivation for the Wildcats in 1980. After an undefeated regular season, Alpena set a new record at the state finals in East Kentwood with 151.94 points. The Wildcats prevailed under pressure, rallying past Pioneer in the final two events.

News Photo by James Andersen The Alpena High School boys gymnastics 1977 state title trophy is pictured in a school trophy case.

Jim LaHaie won titles on the parallel bars and horizontal bar and Ed Timm took the title on pommel horse.

The Wildcats finally climbed to the top of the mountain again in 1981. They won their second straight championship and third in five years, bettering their own mark from the previous year, scoring 155.675 points, ahead of Pioneer.

Joe Bleau won the overall state title for Alpena and took home additional titles in the vault and parallel bars. Bryan Hyde won on the horizontal bars for Alpena.

Alpena’s third gymnastics title came just seven days after the Alpena hockey team captured its first state title, giving Alpena a March to remember.

The two teams nearly repeated the feat a year later as Alpena won its third straight gymnastics title and the hockey team finished runner-up in the state championship game.

News Photo by James Andersen The Alpena High School boys gymnastics 1979 state runner-up trophy is pictured in a school trophy case.

Even before the 1982 final, the end was drawing closer for Alpena’s gymnastics team.

After the 1981 finals, the MHSAA held a meeting — coincidently enough in Alpena — and determined with only about a dozen schools sponsoring boys gymnastics, the sponsorship of a state final would end.

To make matters worse, Alpena’s athletic teams were left without funding in the wake of Black Friday — Oct. 16, 1981 — the day Alpena High closed its doors amid financial struggles. Alpena’s doors reopened two weeks later, but Black Friday’s impact and other factors led to the program being cut two years later.

Nonetheless, Alpena went out with a bang in March of 1982.

At Michigan State University — in a meet considered as the state championship — the Wildcats dominated their closest competitor with a 12-point win and Dave Meyer (pommel horse) and Claude Hubert (parallel bars) won state titles.

News Archive Photo Members of the Alpena High gymnastics team are shown after Alpena’s state title win in 1980.

Timm told The News the win was “comparable to a basketball team winning by 40 points.”

Long after the end of the program’s run, its accomplishments during that time haven’t been forgotten.

Discher, Timm and several gymnasts have been inducted into the Alpena Sports Hall of Fame and the 1977 title team was honored as Team of the Year by the Hall of Fame in 2005.

At that banquet, Discher gifted each team member a video copy of the 1977 final.

“We had our home crowd’s enthusiastic support through-out the the entire meet,” Discher said. “There will probably never be the support from an Alpena home crowd like we had in 1977 again! It was the best ever! Thank you Alpena!”

News Archive Photo The front page of The News’ sports section is shown from March 17, 1980 after the Alpena High boys gymnastics team won its second state champion.

News Archive Photo The front page of the News’ sports section from March 25, 1981 recaps Alpena’s state championship win. The Wildcats won their second consecutive title in 1981 and third in five years.

News Archive Photo Alpena High’s Bryan Hyde (center) raises his arms after being announced as the winner of the 1981 state title in the horizontal bars.

News Archive Photo A News’ headline proclaims Alpena state champions again after the 1982 state gymnastics final.