MIDDLEBURY — The hard work put in by the young Middlebury Union High School gymnastics team paid off on Monday with the Tigers’ first win in at least two years and probably longer. The score was 115.40-101.675 over U-32 at the Middlebury Union Middle School gym.
Junior Rosalie Wright-Lapin sparked the Tigers’ victory by winning all four events and the all-around title, while classmate Bronwyn Worrick was second twice, third twice and a close third in the all-around race.
U-32’s Sarah Corp had a strong day, with a tie for first, a second, and two thirds to edge Worrick for second in the all-around competition.
Also picking up points for the Tigers with top-six finishes were juniors Megan Myers and Jane McCabe, sophomore Hailey LaFave and freshman Chauntae Quesnel.
The Tigers prevailed despite missing two juniors, Lucy Weber, who had an academic conflict, and Jasmine Blodgett, who has been hurt but hopes to return for the Tigers’ final home meet, vs. Randolph on Feb. 2.
TIGER BEN MILLER performs on the bars at Monday’s meet in Middlebury.
Independent photo/Trent Campbell
MUHS Coach Meg Harris said her gymnasts have always just enjoyed working on getting better at their sport and spending time together, but it was still exciting to see them rewarded with a victory.
“It has been a while … People were happy last night,” Harris said, adding, “They were really encouraged by the meet last night. I think there was a lot of good energy.”
Overall, Harris said this winter has been the most satisfying of recent seasons for the Tigers as they have shown the most progress in the sport; an enthusiastic, talented group of middle school athletes signed on; and the team’s many juniors are coming into their own.
“All I say to them is just go out there and have fun,” Harris said “They’re just really excited to be out there. The kids are really enjoying it, and it’s a really nice team. They’ve really gelled. And there’s a bit more maturity on the team.”
The win against U-32 should put the Tigers in a good frame of mind for a winnable home meet vs. Randolph on Feb. 2 to close the regular season. A rules change will then allow all the Tigers to compete in the Division II state meet, which they are looking forward to, Harris said.
“Having a couple wins under our belts will help us be confident going into the state meet,” she said.
TIGERS, 115.40-101.675
Monday’s top-six finishers were:
VAULT:
1st: Wright-Lapin, M, 8.45.
2nd: Corp, U-32, 8.425.
3rd: Worrick, M, 8.2.
4th: Olivia Buley, U-32, 8.15.
5th: Quesnel, M, 8.0
6th (tie): LaFave, M, and Haley Joslyn, U-32, 7.85.
BARS:
1st: Wright-Lapin, M, 7.25.
2nd: Corp, U-32, 6.65.
3rd: Worrick, M, 5.75.
4th (3-way tie): Myers and LaFave, M, and Joslyn, U-32, 4.8.
5th: Buley, U-32, 4.4.
6th: Alex Wallace, independent from Mount Abraham, 4.1.
BEAM:
1st (tie): Wright-Lapin, M, and Corp, U-32, 8.35.
2nd (tie): Worrick, M, and Joslyn, U-32, 8.2.
3rd: Buley, U-32, 8.0.
4th: Myers, M, 7.75.
5th: LaFave, M, 7.3.
6th: McCabe, M, 7.0.
FLOOR:
1st: Wright-Lapin, M, 8.0.
2nd: Worrick, M, 7.85.
3rd: Joslyn, U-32, 7.6.
4th: Corp, U-32, 7.55.
5th: McCabe, M, 6.45.
6th: LaFave, M, 6.4.
ALL-AROUND:
1st: Wright-Lapin, M, 32.05.
2nd: Corp, U-32, 30.975.
3rd: Worrick, M, 30.0.
4th: Joslyn, U-32, 28.45.
5th: LaFave, M, 26.35.
6th: Buley, U-32, 26.15.
Harris also noted that the Tigers have male gymnasts who compete, but per Vermont Principals’ Association rules cannot have their scores counted. Against U-32, Talon Drown scored 8.45 on vault, which tied him for first place, and Ben Miller scored 6.75 on floor, which would have put him in fifth.
MILTON, 117.15-112.65
The Tigers also hosted Milton on Saturday and almost prevailed, as the Yellowjackets edged them, 117.15-112.65.
Saturday’s top-six finishers were:
VAULT:
1st: Victoria Greenough, independent from Colchester, 8.6.
2nd: Sarah Ricard, Milton, 8.5.
3rd: Wright-Lapin, MUHS, 8.4.
4th: Worrick, MUHS, 8.15.
5th: Quesnel, MUHS, 8.1.
6th: Maria Castine, Milton, 7.9.
BARS:
1st: Danielle Archimbault, Milton, 7.4.
2nd (tie): Jen Demar, Milton, and Greenough, C, 7.0.
3rd: Dory McLaughlin, Milton, 6.1.
4th (tie): Wright-Lapin, MUHS, and Ricard, Milton, 6.0.
5th: LaFave, MUHS, 5.8.
6th: Castine, Milton, 5.7.
BEAM:
1st: Greenough, C, 8.0.
2nd (tie): Archimbault and Demar, Milton, 7.8.
3rd: Ricard, Milton, 7.7.
4th (tie): Worrick, MUHS, and Castine, Milton, 7.5.
5th: Wright-Lapin, MUHS, 7.2.
6th: Myers, MUHS, 7.1.
FLOOR:
1st: Greenough, C, 8.05.
2nd: Worrick, MUHS, 8.0.
3rd: Wright-Lapin, MUHS, 7.8.
4th: Jen Demar, Milton, 7.7.
5th: LaFave, MUHS, 7.3.
6th: Archimbault, Milton, 7.2.
ALL-AROUND:
1st: Greenough, C, 31.65.
2nd: Demar, Milton, 29.8.
3rd: Wright-Lapin, MUHS, 29.4.
4th: Ricard, Milton, 29.2.
5th: Worrick, MUHS, 29.15.
6th: Castine, Milton, 28.2.
The Tiger boys who participated were Peter Watson, who scored 8.6 on the vault; Talon Crown, 8.5 on the vault; and Ben Miller, 8.0 on the vault and 6.0 on the bars. All those scores would have been good enough to place had they counted, Harris said.