MIDDLEBURY — With seven athletes in the fold this winter, Middlebury Union gymnastics coach Natalia Harthman will be emphasizing versatility to her team.
Harthman would like the Tigers to expand their horizons and test themselves in as many of the gymnastic disciplines as possible. She noted the teams’ top four scorers count in an event, but as many as six athletes per team can participate, and if athletes compete in all events they can score in the all-around competition.
“Having such a small team, we have to really work on having everybody being able to compete on everything, so if there’s an injury, or if somebody’s out some day for something, we have enough people to fill in,” Harthman said.
That said, Essex and Champlain Valley, with big teams, single-sport athletes, and year-round access to clubs and gymnastic facilities, will again duel it out for the state gymnastics title.
Harthman said the Tigers will hold their own against the rest of the state’s programs, but the Tiger program’s real goals are for each athlete to stretch her own boundaries.
“We know who we’re strongly competitive against,” she said. “We always focus on our own scores and improving our own routines. It’s an individual sport, so it makes it a little less pressure when you’re just focused on beating yourself.”
Three of the team’s members return: senior Carly Burger, who scored well in the all-around and floor exercise this past winter; sophomore Alyza Alger, another all-around competitor who also specializes on the bars; and sophomore Kylee Ellis, who competes on the vault, beam and floor.
Four freshmen with middle-school experience signed up, three of whom came directly from working with Harthman as 8th-graders a year ago: Mary Johnson, Claire Bruley and Rose Bright. Johnson and Bruley will compete in the all-round, with Johnson working on the bars to start and Bruley on the floor, beam and bars.
Bright will focus on the floor and the bars, while freshman Kaya Wright, a member of the team as a 7th-grader, will probably start out on the floor and beam, Harthman said.
Harthman expects improvement by all and an enjoyable winter.
“It’s a very fun group of girls,” Harthman said. “I’m definitely looking forward to another great season.”