Flooring the competition
Methuen’s Ramos-Delgado eyes junior national team
Before a Methuen High gymnast begins their routine, Divier Ramos-Delgado and his teammates try to get them to smile.
“We have inside jokes,” said Ramos-Delgado. “Before we’re about to salute into our routine, we have an inside joke that we might say to take some pressure off. It’s to remember that this is fun.”
The inside jokes might be a team secret, but what is not a secret is Ramos-Delgado’s love for the sport. The junior never has to be reminded that gymnastics is fun — his passion for the sport is displayed daily.
And his prowess extends well beyond state lines.
“He has been one of the top 10 male gymnasts in the country in his age group for a few years now,” said Dunkan Gould, the men’s coach at Interstate Gymnastics in Methuen, where Ramos-Delgado trains.
After qualifying for three USA Gymnastics men’s developmental program national championships (formerly Junior Olympics), Ramos-Delgado made his debut at the Xfinity US Gymnastics Championships in San Jose, Calif., in August.
Competing on the junior level, the powerfully built 5foot-6½-inch Ramos-Delgado was ninth in the all-around, finishing fifth on pommel horse and seventh on vault. He narrowly missed making the junior national team, which took the top six gymnasts.
“I wasn’t expecting to be that close to the national team on my first try,” said Ramos-Delgado.
“He was inches away from the national team,” said Gould. “He hit 11 of 12 routines. He hit all of his routines on Day 1.”
Ramos-Delgado hopes to earn a junior national team spot at nationals in June. But three priorities come first: helping Methuen qualify for the North sectionals, performing well at February’s Elite Team Cup, and finishing four advanced placement courses.
A top scholar-athlete, he boasts a 4.5 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society. He has also been a part of the school’s swimming and diving and outdoor track. Last fall, he qualified for Division 1 states in his first attempt at competitive diving. Last spring, he was sixth in the Division 1 state outdoor track championships in pole vault.
He does all this while maintaining his elite gymnastics career, which sets him apart from his competitors, since most elite male gymnasts focus solely on the sport.
“I’m just very focused in school,” said Ramos-Delgado. “I try to get as much work as possible done in school. Then I have gymnastics after school and I get home at 9 p.m. and then do more homework.”
Despite the schedule, competing for Methuen’s co-ed gymnastics team (he is one of two males on the team) is important to Ramos-Delgado. His older sister, Adiamis, was a star for the Rangers in 2020, before she became the student manager for Springfield College’s gymnastics team.
“I have gotten to know a lot more people through high school gymnastics,” said RamosDelgado. “It’s really fun.”
With Ramos-Delgado in the lineup, Methuen has been scoring in the mid-130s and has gone 3-2 in the competitive Merrimack Valley Conference.
“His natural ability is amazing,” said Methuen teammate Bryan Incollingo, a junior who also competes alongside RamosDelgado in club. “He makes everything look almost effortless. Without Divier, we wouldn’t be where we are as a team today in both leadership and competitiveness.”
Competing in three of the four traditional women’s events (he skips balance beam), he regularly scores above 9.5. His vault has earned the highest score in the state this season (9.95). It is a simpler version of the vault he unleashes at club meets.
“He can stick that vault every single time,” said Gould. “What makes the difference is his execution. His legs are straight, his toes are pointed.”
On floor exercise, an apparatus Ramos-Delgado labels “a favorite for most of my life,” he has been scoring 9.6. His high-scoring tumbling passes stand out.
“I have combo passes, which are when you do two skills in a row, back to back,” said RamosDelgado. “You get a bonus from those. I can do a whip, which is like a layout or a back handspring without your hands, into a punch 2½ twists. Or I can do a front layout into a punch front double full. Those are my most difficult.”
At last year’s MHSGC state individual meet, Ramos-Delgado was first on vault and second on floor exercise. His performances in the regular season propelled Methuen to the North sectional meet, but he had to miss it due to the Elite Team Cup. This year lines up similarly, with North sectionals and the Elite Team Cup scheduled for the same weekend (Feb. 23-24).
The Elite Team Cup is a team event in Louisville, Ky., featuring the top eight junior elite men’s gymnasts from each region. Held in conjunction with the USA Gymnastics Winter Cup, the top winter meet for elite gymnasts, it is important for college recruitment.
Competing in high school gymnastics gave Ramos-Delgado a leg up in the event last year.
“One of the pros about high school gymnastics is that it showed me how to work in a team environment,” he said. “When I was at the Elite Team Cup, I was able to notice how it was similar to high school gymnastics, but on another level. The energy was really strong.”
The dedication and balance Ramos-Delgado demonstrates daily between elite gymnastics, high school sports, and academics should make him an asset to any Division 1 college team.
“There are a lot of colleges who would be thrilled to have him on their team,” said Gould.