NFA’s Ambruso takes uneven bars, as Woodstock claims title
Franklin — The start of the day for the Norwich Free Academy gymnastics team was a bit of a blow. Senior captain Patrice Carrignan suffered an ankle injury during warmups for the floor exercise and had to leave the Wildcats for a trip to the emergency room.
But what followed was a credit to the Wildcats and their ability to regroup.
NFA, under first-year coach Tandi Carignan, turned in its second-best score of the season, good for a second-place finish at the Eastern Connecticut Conference championship meet Sunday at Thames Valley Academy of Gymnastics.
Woodstock Academy made it 13 straight ECC titles with 136.05 points, with NFA second (134.3), Killingly third (134.1) and Stonington fourth (131.3) in an evenly matched meet. East Lyme/Waterford, which started the season with just four gymnasts, did not compete due illness and injuries.
NFA was led by freshman Trinity Ambruso, who won the uneven bars with a score of 9.5 and finished third all-around with 36.8 points.
“I'm proud of how our team did,” Ambruso said. “We composed ourselves well and put out a good fight. I think we organized that well (after the injury to Carrignan). The leaders on the team like (senior co-captain) Sarah Fedeli and Morgan (Sadler), they were good at keeping us composed.
“It was scary. (Carrignan) is such a good leader. She helps lighten the mood when everyone's nervous. We did well without her but we missed her.”
Woodstock's Olivia Aleman was the top finisher all-around with 37.4 points, followed by Killingly's Ella Pereira (37.0), Ambruso and Stonington's Lydia Laskey (35.2).
Last year's ECC and State Open champion, Taylor Markley of Woodstock, missed what would have been her senior season due to elbow surgery but will compete at the Division I level next year at the University of Bridgeport.
In addition to her win on the bars, NFA's Ambruso was second on the vault (8.8), third on beam (9.1) and tied for third on floor (9.4).
Ambruso has the third-highest allaround score in the state this season at 36.975 and second-highest on the balance beam (9.425).
On Sunday, the bars were her forte, as she added a skill, an overshoot (a form of transition from high bar to low bar) to her routine. Ambruso is a Level 9 competitor in USA Gymnastics, who has been involved in the sport since she was 6, she said.
“She’s really talented and a really great kid,” Carignan, the NFA coach, said of Ambruso. “She’s a hard worker. She motivates everyone around her. It’s beyond the raw talent and just an all-around great person.”
Carignan, originally from Pittsburgh, taught for 16 years at Plainfield High School. This year, NFA had teaching and coaching openings. Carignan applied for and got both positions.
“I teach freshman science this year and I’m loving it,” said Carignan, who got her undergraduate degree in environmental marine biology before going back to earn her teaching degree.
“My original goal was to live in the middle of the ocean with my cat and never talk to anyone. I was going to be a marine biologist. Coaching made me realize how much I love working with kids, how much I love taking something that’s difficult and breaking it down so kids can understand and breaking down the fears associated with it.”
NFA scored more than 134 points for the first time this season in a win Friday over Stonington, 134.65133.14, and reached that mark again Sunday.
“It’s been great, very much so,” Carignan said. “I’m so excited. They’ve worked hard for this.”
The teams will go on to compete in the state divisional meets on Feb. 25 and in the State Open on March 4.