Schuyler Tomey was State Open champ on vault for St. Joseph.
Contributed photo / Lorraine BoydSt. Joseph senior Schuyler Tomey placed second in the all-around and coach Celina Huber’s Cadets earned third as a team at the State Open Championships in New Milford on Saturday.
Tomey was State Open champ on vault, as her yurchenko (a round-off onto the springboard and a back handspring onto the vaulting table) routine gave her a top score of 9.475.
“I was so impressed with the level of competition today,” Tomey said. “It’s so much fun knowing our entire team in going to the New England’s.”
Tomey was fourth on bars (9.175), tied for fourth in floor exercise (9.025) and tied for seventh on the balance beam (8.80).
St. Joseph’s sophomore Lindsay Capobianco tied for fifth on balance bean (9.00).
Caitlin Vozzella, a junior, was sixth on beam (8.975).
“All of the girls did their part and contributed to a great team score,” Huber said. “They worked hard in the gym and it paid off in competition. I’m very proud of all the girls.”
Class L champion Southington added the State Open team crown to its collection. The Blue Knights amassed 136.625 points to edge Woodstock Academy (136.100). St. Joseph (135.325) was third with Stonington (132.175) fourth.
Both the team and individual performances did not disappoint as the four-hour chase for every gold medal and team plaque went down to the wire when the best high school girls’ gymnasts in Connecticut came together.
It was the first State Open team title for Southington, which had been Open runner-up in 2015, 2013 and 2010.
“This means a lot to us and our gymnastics history. The plaque will find a prominent spot in our school trophy case,” said Southington coach Cassidy Chamberland. “This title shows we’ve built the program back up to a high level. The girls put in the work. this is a wonderful end-result. And it will be our first trip to the New England’s.”
Southington, Woodstock Academy and St. Joseph will all be participating in the 2020 New England Championships next Saturday at 10 a.m. at Fairfield Warde.
The top 10 finishers in each Open individual event can compete at the New England’s. But any gymnast from Southington, Woodstock Academy or St. Joseph does not count toward any Top 10. This allows gymnasts below tenth to qualify for the Connecticut contingent until an event group reaches 10 gymnasts.
The first Open team champion was crowned in 2009. Woodstock Academy, although runner-up for the second time in three years, had captured seven of eight team crowns between 2012 and 2019.
There were also individual event honors awarded as the top 40 regular season qualifiers in each event were invited to compete.
Woodstock Academy senior Jenna Davidson was Open champ on floor exercise (9.55) and all-around (36.575). On floor exercise, Pomperaug’s Sara Myrvold (9.20) was second with SCC champion Mia Lawrence of Mercy third.
FCIAC champion and Ludlowe junior Ava Mancini took the gold medal on beam at 9.15. Erin Dunn of South Windsor (9.125) was second.
On uneven bars, Tolland senior Alexa Granfield was champion with a score of 9.375, just ahead of New Milford freshman Hailey Best (9.325) and Davidson (9.225).
Class S championships
St. Joseph placed second to 10-time champion Woodstock Academy in the Class S championships on Saturday.
Leading the way for St. Joseph was Schuyler Tomey, who won vaulting with a 9.50 score.
“Since this is the first year that our school has had a full team of its own, we’re all so happy,” Tomey said. “We took second place in the FCIAC Championship and it propelled us tonight. It is amazing to be one of the four schools to qualify for the State Open as a team. Everybody pulled their weight.”
By winning the vault and tying for third place in the all-around (35.90), Tomey gets a victory bonus for the weekend. “I’m taking this runner-up plaque home with me for the weekend,” Tomey laughed. “I’ll bring it to school on Monday. But it’s mine until then.”
The Centaurs captured their eighth straight Class S team title Saturday night, besting a field of eight at Jonathan Law’s James Richetelli Sr. Gym. Woodstock Academy won two Class M titles before putting together this Class S streak of success.
Woodstock Academy finished the night with 140.425 points to hold off St. Joseph (138.325) and rival Stonington (136.6). Host Jonathan Law was in fourth (131.4) followed by Mercy (130.950), Daniel Hand (129.950), Pomperaug (129.550) and Oxford (119.3).
Woodstock Academy won two Class M titles before putting together this Class S streak of success.
Woodstock Academy finished the night with 140.425 points to hold off runner-up St. Joseph (138.325) and Rival Stonington (136.6). Host Jonathan Law was in fourth (131.4) followed by Mercy (130.950), Daniel Hand (129.950), Pomperaug (129.550) and Oxford (119.3).
Class L Meet
Trumbul High’s Rachel Kapteina scored an 8.775 to place third in vault at the Class L championships.
Trumbull placed fourth (128.7) in the eight-team field.
Southington (138.875), which last carried the L championship plaque home in 2015, snapped the four-year stranglehold that Greenwich had on the event. For Southington, it was its ninth Class L team crown since 2005.
Ludlowe (136.575) was second and Newtown (130.7) third.
Southington had three gymnasts in the top four in the all-around.
rdepreta@stamfordadvocate.com