Published February 15, 2019
By JENNIFER GENTILE
STONEHAM—The Melrose High gymnastics team finished their league work this week with a win over Burlington before competing in the 2019 Middlesex League Championship at Stoneham High on Feb. 11. Melrose finished their Middlesex dual meet season against the Red Devils on Friday, Feb. 8, beating Burlington by a good margin of 141.6-134.25 to finish 4-3 on the season.
GYMNASTIC SENIORS Caroline Fogarty (left) and Brooke Barriss (right) along with their parents, were honored at the start of Melrose’s win against Burlington on Feb. 8. (Donna Larsson photo)
Melrose started the evening off strongly in vault, where Katie Wright earned an event-high 9.25, followed by a strong vault by Brooke Barriss. Ciara Smith and Nicole Nzui also earned points for Melrose with 8.75 scores. Melrose took a 71.85-66.4 lead after the bars, which was Melrose’s strongest event of the night, with Ciara Smith tallying an event-high 9.3. Lucia Hannon also did superbly in the event with a 9.2 and Wright impressed with a 9.1. Jane Harrington helped the cause with an 8.5. Katie Wright led the efforts on the beam with a 9.3, followed by Elana Simard, helping Melrose extend their lead 106.2-100.0. In the finale, the floor, Melrose started thing off with an impressive routine from Taylor Pesce (8.5) followed by Sophia Weissman (8.6) Ciara Smith (8.9) And Katie Wright brought down the house with a 9.4 effort, the highest score of the evening that clinched victory for Melrose.
On Monday, Melrose competed in the league meet and placed fourth with 137.175 points. Melrose brought home seven medals, including a sixth-place All Around finish by Katie Wright. Melrose showed strength in the floor (35.0) and vault (34.8). Earning points for Melrose in the vault were Nicole Nzui, Ciara Smith, Brooke Barriss and Katie Wright. Ciara Smith and Katie Wright’s effort topped Melrose’s bar scores (8.9s) while Sophia Weissman and Brooke Barriss also earned points.On beam, Melrose saw a team-high score by Katie Wright, followed by Lucia Hannon. Melrose got a real boost with a 9.3 by Katie Wright on the floor, while Ciara Smith also had a solid 8.75. Medaling for Melrose were Nicole Nzui and Brooke Barriss (vault), Katie Wright (beam) Ciara Smith and Katie Wright (bars) while Katie Wright medaled in the floor and in All Around.
This week it was announced at Melrose’s Katie has qualified for States as an All Around competitor. Individual event qualifiers include: Ciara Smith in bars and floor, Brooke Barriss in vault and Lucy Hannon in bars. Next week, Melrose should learn if they have qualified for North Sectionals. With three meets this season scoring over a 140.00 Melrose has a fighting chance. Stay tuned.
