The Londonderry High gymnastics squad narrowly missed out on a win but still bagged a solid second place in a five-team meet at LHS Thursday, Jan. 8.
The Bishop Guertin High Lady Cardinals of Nashua snagged the team victory by tallying a point total of 128.1, with Londonderry less than a full point behind in second place with a 127.2. The Exeter Lady Blue Hawks finished third (108.55), the Dover High Green Wave claimed fourth (102.7), and the Spaulding High Lady Red Raiders were a distant fifth (92.8).
The host team had standout Jill McIntire tie for first place on vault (9.0) and claim third places in the floor exercise and the all-around.
Mira Kutney collected a second place on the balance beam (8.9) and Maddy Britting took second on floor (8.2), and Courtney Baharian finished third on the uneven bars.
The Lady Lancers also received strong work on vault from Taylor MacKenzie, Kutney, and Baharian (8.15); on bars from Baharian, McIntire, Kutney, and Jessi Pignone; on the beam from Maddie Baumann, Baharian, and McIntire, and on floor from McIntire, Pignone, and Kutney.
Other gymnasts who competed for Londonderry were Gianna DelViscovo, Skylar Roy, Jordan Dufresne, Hailey Endyke, Camille Lamont, and Rachel Larkin.
“Each meet our girls are putting up harder skills and getting more bonus in their routines,” said head coach Heather Tuden. “The assistant coaches and I love seeing this because it brings us closer to higher start values, which will raise our scores. We have a lot of talent on our team this year, and I look forward to our meet Thursday (Jan. 15) with Salem, BG and Nashua North and South.”
Assistant coach Emily Myers added her thoughts by saying, “The girls had an awesome meet. It was their first meet of the season on a non-spring floor, and they adjusted well. We see an improvement every meet with new skills and confidence, and we’re one step closer to the state meet.”