LAWRENCE — Over the years, the Central Catholic gymnastics program has compiled a long list of extremely talented gymnasts.
Rcently, it’s been names such as Camryn Rueda, Riley Salerno, Julia Turrisi and Zinnia Hopkinson.
This year has been no different, as Kallie McCarthy has proven that she is one of, if not the best, gymnasts in the extremely competitive Merrimack Valley Conference.
This season, she has high scores of 9.80 on vault, 9.45 on bars, 9.70 on beam, 9.60 on floor, and 37.70 in the all-around.
The Raiders star has been elite for four years, being crowned the New England floor champion as a freshman and the North sectional vault champion last year.
McCarthy was also second in the state last year on the vault, fourth on the floor exercise, and seventh in the all-around competition.
She will look to add to those accomplishments at Tuesday night’s MVC Championship Meet to be held at the A2 Gym and Cheer Facility in her hometown of Salem, N.H.
“Kallie has trained for the Yellowjackets Club team for many years and is a Level-10 gymnast,” said head coach Heather Fusco. “She’s a Level-10, so she’s good. That’s high-level gymnastics, so what she does for us is watered down compared to what she does for her club team. She’s a captain and a great leader for us. She is the biggest and the loudest cheerleader. She has a great attitude.”
McCarthy, who was introduced to the sport at age two by her mother, Nicole, a former Salem (N.H.) High gymnast, owns Central’s second-best mark in the vault (9.85), which was accomplished during her freshman year. She also owns the fifth-best all-around score of 37.8, which was accomplished during her sophomore year, after sitting out the regular season with a broken ankle.
In last year’s MVC Championship Meet, McCarthy was second on the vault (first female), fourth on the beam, fifth on the floor, and fifth in the all-around.
She said she’s not setting individual goals for Tuesday’s meet.
“I just go into meets with no expectations and hope for the best,” she said, noting that her brother Mac played golf and hockey at Central, graduating in 2023. “I just want to have fun. High School is more laid back, and it’s more of a team culture. For club, you are mostly competing for yourself.”
McCarthy, who hasn’t decided whether she’ll compete in college yet, realizes her high school career is coming to an end, but hopes the team ends on a high note at the MVC, North Sectional, and possibly the state meets.
“I’m very excited, and as a team, I think we’re going to do very well (on Tuesday),” she said. “At the beginning of the season, we were getting some low scores because everyone was getting used to (the varsity level) and to each other and gaining confidence. Now everyone is good with their routines.”
“We are just having so much fun this year,” she added. “This team is so much fun. Everyone just loves each other. Honestly, it’s been the best four years. It’s just been so much fun. Being on this team feels like a whole new world of gymnastics.”