Reilly Benson and her Valley Central Vikings teammates have plenty of new hardware after winning their third straight Section 9 gymnastics championship.

Benson won her second straight All-Around championship, leading the Vikings to the championship with 164.85 points on Feb. 13 at Epik Athletics in Middletown.

“It’s good because it shows my work has paid off,” Benson said.

Benson scored a combined 34.325 in the meet’s four events to take the top spot. She finished tied for the win in the vault with teammate Eleanor O’Neil and won the uneven bars. She finished second in the floor exercise and took third on the balance beam.

“I just keep practicing to keep my skills good and make sure I can perform and do good,” Benson said.

O’Neil won the balance beam with a score of 9.0. Wallkill’s Marlee McCullough was the only Valley Central gymnast to win a championship when she edged Benson in the floor exercise.

“We’re all really supportive of each other,” Benson said. “We always cheer each other on because we’re all friends. Nothing’s bad about it. It’s all good.”

Benson is also leading a large Valley Central contingent to the New York State championship meet on March 2 at Clarence High School.

That’s 19 days from the Section 9 championship meet.

“I’ll just keep doing my skills over and over again to keep them good and perfected,” Benson said.

Benson heads the Section 9 all-around trio, which also includes second-place finisher Julia Meyer of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and O’Neil, who finished third.

McCullough will represent the Wallkill Panthers at the state meet on the floor, along with Valley Central’s Bailey Badendyck (third place), Kaylee Benson (fourth) and Leah Rieber (fifth). Valley Central’s Ella Freeman will go to the state meet after finishing fourth on the uneven bars.

“It’s a really good experience for all of us because of team bonding,” Benson said. “It’s really good for all of us to experience it.”

Section 9 Gymnastics Championships

Team results: 1. Valley Central - 164.85; 2. Kingston - 147.925; 3. Wallkill - 140.275; 4. FDR - 133.425; 5. New Paltz - 32.575.
Vault: 1. Reilly Benson (VC) - 8.225; 1. Eleanor O’Neill (VC) - 8.225; 3. Claire Coiteux (NP) - 8.175; 4. Marlee McCullough (W) - 8.125; 4. Leah Rieber (VC) - 8.125; 6. Julia Meyer (FDR) - 8.1; 6. Liz Kellner (W) - 8.1.
Uneven bars: 1. Reilly Benson (VC) - 8.35; 2. Julia Meyer (FDR) - 8.05; 3. Leah Rieber (VC) - 7.5; 4. Claire Coiteux (NP) - 7.3; 5. Eleanor O’Neill (VC) - 7.25; 6. Ella Freeman (VC) - 7.25.
Balance beam: 1. Eleanor O’Neill (VC) - 9.0; 2. Julia Meyer (FDR) - 8.6; 3. Reilly Benson (VC) - 8.3; 4. Maggie Kullen (K) - 8.3; 5. Marlee McCullough (W) - 8.175; 6. Claire Coiteux (NP) - 8.1.
Floor: 1. Marlee McCullough (W) - 9.525; 2. Reilly Benson (VC) - 7.45; 3. Bailey Badendyck (VC) - 9.3; 4. Kaylee Benson (VC) - 9.275; 5. Leah Rieber (VC) - 9.25; 5. Estelle Sherron (K) - 9.25.
All-around: 1. Reilly Benson (VC) - 34.325; 2. Julia Meyer (FDR) - 33.75; 3. Eleanor O’Neill (VC) - 33.575;4. Marlee McCullough (W) - 32.675; 5. Claire Coiteux (NP) - 32.575; 6. Bailey Badendyck (VC) - 32.45.