State Champs
Members of the Woodstock Academy gymnastics team proudly display their Class S state championship plaque. Courtesy photo.



Gymnasts
win 10th state
championship
There have been times when Woodstock Academy has traveled to the Class S state gymnastics championship and the outcome, barring a disaster, was preordained.
This was not one of those years.
The Centaurs knew they had to hit their routines to raise the string of consecutive state titles for the program to the double digits.
 “The girls were definitely feeling the pressure especially after losing an in-season meet to Stonington this year. They didn’t want to be the ones to end the streak; no one does although it may come down to that at some point. The streak was riding on their shoulders but we kept telling them that it was just like the (Eastern Connecticut Conference championship), we had to beat Stonington,” said Woodstock Academy coach Kasey Tocchio.
Feb. 29 Woodstock Academy accomplished that.
The Centaurs recorded their second best total of the season, 140.425, and downed St. Joseph’s, which finished with a 138.325 total, to win their 10th consecutive state title. Stonington finished third with a 136.6 total.
It was the eighth straight Class S championship for Woodstock Academy.
Two Class M state titles preceded the run in Class S.
“It was probably more rewarding,” Tocchio said of the latest state title. “It wasn’t easy and the girls have worked so hard for it.”
Without their top gymnast, freshman Taylor Markley, and minus gifted athletes like Paige Stuyniski or Grace Logan, to carry the team, Woodstock Academy could hardly afford to make any mistakes.
It was coming off an ECC championship in which it beat Stonington by less than a point and the Bears were itching for a little payback.
The Centaurs weren’t about to let that happen.
ECC champ, Jenna Davidson, led the way again for the Centaurs. The senior found her groove, according to Tocchio, and stayed confident and calm.
Especially on the balance beam. Without question, the hardest apparatus for most gymnasts, Davidson sparkled, finishing with a 9.5.
That was .025 better than Lindsay Capobianco of St. Joseph’s.
Davidson was above 9.0 in all of her events.
She finished with a 9.375 score for her floor routine, added a 9.2 on the bars and a 9.1 in the vault.
She would have been the individual champion had the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference recognized individual champions in the state championship. Individual titles are reserved for the State Open competition.
The remainder of the Woodstock Academy gymnasts also scored above a 9.0 in one event each.
Lindsey Gillies did so in the vault (9.050); Emily Arters (9.350) and Elise Boisvert (9.025) both accomplished their best in the floor exercise.
Tocchio said there was never any real comfort during the meet as far as a feeling that the championship was theirs.
After the Centaurs finished beam, they watched St. Joe’s post some good team scores of their own on the apparatus.
“We were getting a little nervous, but I told them, there was nothing we could do about it. All we could do was go to the floor and do our best. That’s the weird thing about gymnastics, you never know,” Tocchio said.
A 36.35 performance as a team on the floor, better than the Cadets by almost a point, guaranteed the Centaurs the trophy they so desperately wanted.
The streaks are done.
There will be no pressure to keep a streak alive going into the State Open championship where the Centaurs have won seven of their last eight.
They will, however, once again go in as favorites. Southington is the nearest competitor.
The Blue Knights won the Class L state title Feb. 29 with a 139.32 total.
“I think that is just a huge confidence boost for the girls,” Tocchio said of the favorite status. “This week, I think we can just focus on beating ourselves. There are some really great teams but if we just do the same thing that we did, it will be all right.”
The Centaurs did record a 141-plus in a home meet against NFA earlier in the season.
But that was with Markley and without the freshman, the Centaurs may be close to their peak.
“The vault was a little tight (Saturday) so we could possibly score a little higher on vault. But for the most part, I think we did the best we could. I think 140, possibly 141, is the best we can do. I know we were hoping for the 140 on Saturday,” Tocchio said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy

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