Wallkill gymnasts win Section 9 title

By Mike Zummo
Posted 2/24/21

Only this season could the sectional meet have been the Wallkill gymnastics’ team’s first meet of the season.With no prior meets under their belts and after a practice that was described …

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Wallkill gymnasts win Section 9 title

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Only this season could the sectional meet have been the Wallkill gymnastics’ team’s first meet of the season.

With no prior meets under their belts and after a practice that was described as not good, the Panthers got over their first meet jitters and beat three other teams on Saturday at Ziggy’s Gymnastics Academy in Middletown to win their second straight Section 9 championship.

“They didn’t feel prepared,” Wallkill coach LeeAnn Pazoga said. “I told them it’s just muscle memory and they’ll be fine.”

The field wasn’t nearly as crowded this year, but the result was the same as the Wallkill gymnastics team won its second straight Section 9 championship on Saturday, beating three other teams at Ziggy’s Gymnastics in Middletown.

The Panthers were led to victory by Rachel Vassell, who won the all-around championship with a total score of 35.250, nearly three total points ahead of second-place finisher Adelynn Laurie. Overall, the Panthers finished with 154.100 total points, with the Kingston Tigers slightly less than 9 points behind at 145.450. The FDR Presidents were third and New Paltz was fourth.

“Rachel Vassell killed it,” Pazoga said. “She came through and had a great night on all her events.”

Vassell won three total events for the Panthers, the uneven bars, the floor exercise, and the balance beam. The only event she didn’t win was the vault, where she finished second with a score of 8.450. FDR’s Clara Patton won the vault with a score of 8.70.

Pazoga said her bar routine was “beautiful” but she had to change up her vault routine. She had been working on a more difficult Yurchenko vault, but it wasn’t ready.

“I had her do the handspring and she did great with it,” Pazoga said. Sometimes you have to change at the last minute.

Vassell posted a 9.100 in the uneven bars, blowing away the competition finishing nearly 2 total points ahead of second-place finisher, Adelynn Laurie of New Paltz. She edged out Patton on the floor exercises with a 9.050. She beat FDR’s Emma Jaegar on the balance beam with a score of 8.650.

Normally, victory at the Section 9 championships would mean a trip to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championship meet, which would have been at Kenmore West High School on Saturday. However, the NYSPHSAA canceled all winter state championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wallkill’s Marlee McCullough was fifth in the all-around with a combined score of 30.500. She was fourth in the bars, third in the vault and fourth on the balance beam.

Daniella Aluisio was seventh in the all-around with a combined 29.500. She was tied for seventh in the vault, sixth in the floor exercise and sixth on the balance beam.

Cadence Shewring finished tied for eighth in the all-around with a combined 29.500. She was ninth on the uneven bars, sixth on the vault, and fifth on the floor.

Liz Kellner was fifth in the vault and ninth in the floor exercise.

Overall, the Panthers are a very young team with strong seasons ahead of them. Their oldest gymnast – Lilly Lévesque – is a sophomore. Vassell, McCullough and many others are freshmen and younger.

“I’m just super proud of them for being able to get out those first-meet jitters, and just pull out the win,” Pazoga said. “They weren’t positive because that last practice before sectionals wasn’t a good one, and then we had the two snow days. We just went in with our fingers crossed and prayed that muscle memory kicked in.”