BEAVER, Pa. (AP) - No team, no problem.
On the high school gymnastics circuit, Western Beaver’s Makayla Gologram and Ambridge’s Alyssa Fernandez, Elise Bracci and Paige Lehn don’t let the absence of a team at their schools stand in their way. Instead, they compete as independents.
“I think it’s harder because we don’t get recognized as much since we don’t have a team,” Gologram said. “We just come (to the gym) and we work hard to do our part.”
While they are independents, the girls can compete during meets involving other high school teams.
“I’ve competed with Central Valley, South Side and Hopewell at almost all my meets except for two,” Gologram said. “They are great supporters to have.”
The gymnastics community is small. Only 10 WPIAL schools have full teams. But the gymnasts from all schools have a close bond.
“Gymnastics is more of an independent sport because you get awards by yourself,” Fernandez said. “I usually compete when Central Valley and Hopewell have meets. I know everyone and we all cheer for each other, so it’s not like I am all by myself.”
The independent gymnasts try to make the most of their unique situations.
“I would like to have the opportunity to be on a team. But everywhere you go, there are nice people,” Bracci said. “It’s nice because you get to get highlighted by yourself and you don’t have to worry about your team. It would be nice to have a team in the future, though.”
Even though they don’t have full teams, independents can compete for WPIAL and state championships. In order to compete for a district championship, the WPIAL states independent gymnasts must demonstrate in four events they are capable of meeting the WPIAL standards.
In addition to performing at team meets, gymnasts may compete at independent events. Terri Gazda, who coaches Central Valley, Hopewell and South Side, hosted an independent meet Saturday at Monaca Turners to help nine gymnasts qualify for the WPIAL championship on Feb. 8.
“My independents are just as important to me as the other girls. They are the future of the sport. There will, hopefully, be full teams someday. They have every right to win an award like the team girls,” she said. “On this side of the state, we include our independent girls in the district meet. On the other side of the state, they are not included. They have their own separate thing, so they are treated like different entities. We really try to make sure our kids are included and they can go to the district meet and the state meet and represent their schools. I don’t think the girls on this side of state realize that.
“We do have some strong independents. Moon has a very strong team and they feed off each other. These kids feed off other independents because they are by themselves. My independents train together and they are supporting each other, but they wear different colors. That’s the only difference.”
In Pennsylvania high school gymnastics, athletes compete in divisions according to their skill levels. The levels escalate from Bronze to Silver to Gold to Diamond. One drawback for independents is that just one gymnast from each school per division may compete for a WPIAL title.
Normally, that’s not a problem. But a potential conflict exists for Fernandez, a junior Diamond competitor, and Bracci, a sophomore Gold competitor.
“Elise is very close to moving to Diamond, which is where Alyssa is. As independents, they both can’t compete at that level. I don’t know if I can hold her back,” Gazda said. “What do you do then? Who is going to decide who gets to compete?
“We’ll see where the math puts her next year. There’s a formula that we go by and she is borderline on moving up. I truly feel she is a top-end Gold, but she is hitting three events in Diamond. Her bars are able to keep her down a little bit. We try to keep her scores down in some events, but we don’t like playing those games. We have to do it so they both can compete.”
Bracci hopes her scores won’t push her into the Diamond division next year.
“You just have to watch what you do in each event. You want to get the average down below a 9 in order to stay in Gold. You just lower your tumbling passes or your tricks on the beam. I want to stay in the Gold division,” she said. “Last year as a freshman, I got first place at states for the floor, which is my favorite event. Alyssa is my best friend, too. We’ve been through everything and we support each other. It’s nice.”
Fernandez, who won the all-around at the Moon Invitational, won silver in the vault at last year’s WPIAL championship meet and was fourth all-around at the state meet. She hopes for more success this year.
“Winning the Moon Invitational gave me more confidence,” she said. “I know that I can compete in the Diamond division. I hope to do even better this year at the WPIAL meet.”
___
Online:
https://bit.ly/1cm5MDz
___
Information from: Beaver County Times, https://www.timesonline.com/
Please read our comment policy before commenting.