Masconomet beams after fourth straight title
NORTHBORO >> Going into the fourth and final rotation on Saturday at Algonquin Regional, Masconomet was in danger of seeing its reign atop girls gymnastics in Massachusetts come to an end.
Fortunately for the Chieftains, they put together a final rotation for the memory books.
Overcoming nearly a full point deficit, Masco received a 9.700 from Greta Mowers and a 9.825 from Bella Misiura on the final vaults of the competition to catch and pass Danvers to win the program’s fourth consecutive state title.
“This one really was a shock,” Masco coach Alicia Gomes Miffitt said. “We have such a strong vaulting team and they really set it up for us at the end.”
Danvers had put up a stellar vaulting effort in the third rotation, capped by a 9.675 from Kaylee Westcott, to overtake Central Catholic for first place heading to the final apparatus.
Danvers finished first on bars and looked to be in good shape after a 9.6 from Camryn Donovan and a 9.575 by Westcott. But Masco was still vaulting and had a chance to keep the crown. Janey Young hit for a 9.200 to give the Chieftains a chance. Mowers then hit her highest score of the season before Misiura was nearly perfect to close things out.
All that was left to see was if Central could stop the coronation. And despite the efforts of Cami Rueda, who had the best score of the day on three of the four events, it turned out to be Masco’s day.“We just had to keep focusing
on ourself and put everything we had into what we could control,” Mowers said.
Central had the lead through the first rotation after a 38.100 on vault, capped by Rueda’s 9.900. The Raiders kept the lead at the midpoint, but saw their advantage shaved to .25 points over Danvers after the Falcons put up the second best team score on floor for the day.
The Chieftains were a point and a half back heading to the third rotation, where they used the floor exercise to bounce back in contention as Misiura, Mowers, Mya Champlain and Young all scored 9.050 or better. The Raiders, meanwhile, hit a patch of trouble on the beam to drop out of the lead.