The Central Catholic High gymnastics team will look to defend its state title this Saturday at the MIAA state championship meet to be held at Algonquin Regional High School beginning at 1 p.m.
The Raiders – also the defending New England Champions – are the No. 1 seed with a 147.575 score. Masconomet Regional, which won the previous three state titles, comes in second, right behind the Raiders with a seed score of 146.925. Danvers/Lynnfield, Mansfield, Newton North, Bridgewater/West Bridgewater, Reading, Brockton/Cardinal Spellman/Stoughton will be the other competing teams.
“I always say that it comes down to clean and neat, and who can stick their routines and who does their job,” said Central head coach Heather Fusco. “If our girls do it as a team, like they did the other day (at the North Sectionals), they are going to be just fine. Their gymnastics is there, their talent is there and it’s just making sure we put together a strong line-up and they do their thing.”
Last weekend, Central captured the North Sectional title with the 147.575 score. The Raiders were led by all-around champion Zinnia Hopkinson, who was first on both the bars (9.550) and balance beam (9.80), while Kallie McCarthy was third, and that included winning the vault (9.80).
“They both did awesome last week and so now they just have to do it again,” said Fusco. “Zinnia watered down her vault a little bit, but we rather play it safe and keep them healthy. If they hit and they’re on, they are both awesome gymnasts and will help the cause.”
Central Catholic will also look for strong performances from Ashlyn Pinet, Allyson White, Sophia Sierpina and Erin Salazar. Pinet finished with scores of 9.350 on the beam and 9.325 on the floor, while White had an amazing 9.575 performance on the beam. Sierpina will compete in the vault and floor, and Salazar on the bars and floor.
“We have a lot of depth, even our freshmen who might not be as high level, but they have been hitting (their routines), staying clean and getting a decent score,” said Fusco. “If we do repeat (as state champions) that would be amazing and if we don’t, that’s OK too because we made it there.”