The Londonderry High girls’ gymnastics squad finished a strong third overall and qualified for the New England Regionals for the first time in years with a strong team performance at the state Division I championships at Salem High School last Saturday afternoon, Feb. 14. Powered by all-around standout Mira Kutney, the Lady Lancers tallied a team score of 132.025 to wind up behind just the now two-time defending champion Pinkerton Academy ladies (137.275) and the runner-up Bishop Guertin Lady Cardinals of Nashua (133.100).
Kutney was the lone Londonderry gymnast to post a top-six finish, grabbing fifth place on the balance beam with a score of 8.425. She ended up just out of the top six in the all-around (seventh), on the uneven bars (eighth), and in the floor exercise (eighth) as well.
“This was our highest point-total and our best meet all season, so we saved our best for today,” said LHS head coach Heather Tuden. “We’re excited to be going to the regionals. We haven’t been there since 2007.”
The New England Regionals will take place – in New Hampshire for the first time ever – at Pinkerton Academy on March 14.
Along with Kutney’s strong work all over the Salem High gym at the states, the locals had a number of other athletes finish just out of scoring positions. They included Courtney Baharian in the vaulting (seventh) and on the uneven bars (ninth), and Jill McIntire on vault (eighth).
Camille Lamont, Rachel Larkin, Taylor MacKenzie, Maddie Baumann, Jordan Dufresne, Maddie Britting and Jessi Pignone also drew significant praise from the coaching staff for their efforts at the D-I competition.