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Winning
The Woodstock Academy gymnastics team celebrates atop the podium after winning its 10th consecutive ECC championship. Jenna All Around – Woodstock Academy junior Jenna Davidson displays the All-Around trophy after winning the individual title at the ECC gymnastics championship Photos by Holly Grube/The Woodstock Academy.
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Gymnasts
head for
States
The Woodstock Academy gymnastics team has been led all season by seniors Lydia Taft and Ali Crescimanno.
A new face emerged Feb. 13.
Junior Jenna Davidson stepped into the spotlight and it may have been a good thing she did.
Davidson captured the Eastern Connecticut Conference gymnastics championship individual title and led the Centaurs to their 10th straight league title with a 142.8 – 133.65 win over the Killingly cooperative program at Deary’s Gymnastics.
“We had some mistakes (Wednesday) and it was kind of lucky for me that I had two good events. It probably won’t happen again, but it’s nice. It does feel good. I never thought I would win, I was just hoping for top three or top five,” Davidson said.
Indeed, the Centaurs were reeling a little bit after the bars competition.
Everything looked like it was going to be another normal night for Woodstock Academy following the vault competition.
Four Centaurs, Crescimanno (9.35), Taft (9.25), Davidson (9.2) and Emily Arters (9.0), all reached or cleared the 9.0 mark and the Centaurs posted a 36.8.
The beam, however, tested their mettle.
The first three Centaurs all fell or missed on their routines and scored under 8.0. Davidson began the recovery with an 8.6 but Taft finished with a lower-than-normal 8.85. Crescimanno salvaged things with a 9.5.
“Coach (Kasey Tocchio) talked to us after and said we looked nervous. I think that played a part in it. There were a lot of dumb mistakes that we never do in practice and definitely don’t do in meets,” Crescimanno said.
Tocchio thought the “big” number, 10 consecutive ECC titles, was a burden on her Centaurs.
“The nerves came (last Wednesday),” Tocchio said. “We’re always asked, ‘Do we feel the pressure?’ and my answer is always, ‘No.’ I said, ‘You guys kind of felt the pressure (Wednesday).’ It was uncharacteristic of them but we’re going to chalk it up as we got it out of our system and we can move on. We’ve really had a very successful season.”
The bad news didn’t stop at the bars.
The beam was equally tough with only Davidson pulling out a 9.2 finish. Taft had to settle for an 8.3 when she, uncharacteristically, slipped off during her routine.
“I was definitely frustrated after I fell the first time and I needed to forget about it and keep going and I couldn’t do that,” Taft said.
Going into the final routine, the floor, the Centaurs, as a team, led Killingly by just over 3 ½ points.
The individual title, however, was certainly up for grabs.
Tourtellotte’s Kiera O’Brien and Putnam’s Maggie McKeon, both of whom compete for the Killingly cooperative program, were sitting 1-2 atop the individual competition. O’Brien had a 27.45 and McKeon a 27.3 while Davidson sat at 27, Crescimanno 26.65 and Taft 26.4.
“It was anyone’s game,” Tocchio said. “These kids work so hard. They like to be with each other in workouts and competitions.”
Tocchio coaches both teams and both work out at her gym, Deary’s.
Fortunately for the Centaurs, both O’Brien and McKeon opened the door on bars as O’Brien scored an 8.4 for a 35.85 total and McKeon an 8.25 to finish at 35.55.
Davidson only needed an 8.6 or better to eclipse her two Killingly competitors.
She finished with a 9.5 on floor.
“That was big. Then, Lydia went 9.6 and those were definitely higher than normal,” Davidson said.
But Davidson had enough of a cushion to hold off her teammate, winning by 36.5 to 36.0 score.
“I’ve been feeling more confident than normal. Bars were a little rough, but I wasn’t really shaken up by it and I normally am. It was good to come back and I feel like everybody felt like that. After bars, we were able to come back and that was nice to see for future meets,” Davidson said.
Tocchio didn’t think the Davidson victory was a surprise.
“Jenna has snuck in toward the end of the season and we knew she could do it. She has the talent, has the potential and it’s really helped our team,” Tocchio said.
For Taft, it was not what she was hoping for.
She had scored a 37.25 in the final regular season meet against Killingly last Monday which the Centaurs (8-0, 6-0 ECC) also won, 144.8 – 131.6.
That meet, just two days before, may have taken a little something out of Woodstock Academy.
“It was definitely not my best meet,” Taft said of the ECC championship performance. “There are always things to fix and it happens. I’m not mad about it. I just have to get back in and fix it. It was a different feeling out there. Two meets in a row was rough. I guess you just have good days and bad days.”
Senior Maddie Grube tied for third on the beam with an 8.85 while Abby Vaida was fourth in the floor with a 9.3.
The Centaurs now move on to the state championship meet this weekend followed by the State Open championship and the New England championship.
“This is kind of like a wakeup call for these next three big meets coming up. We just need to continue to do what we’ve been doing to get the score we want,” Crescimanno said.
Woodstock Academy will be the top-ranked team when it competes for the Class S state championship Feb. 23 at Jonathan Law High School in Milford.
Tocchio is just hopeful that the Centaurs got the “sillies” out.
“We finally got a little rest for them. Monday was a holiday so we gave them the day off and gave their bodies some rest. The seniors needed it a little bit. Now, we have some training days and a meet on the weekend. Same thing the following week so it kind of gets us into a pattern. High school season is a lot for them. We had a meet last Monday and then another last Wednesday, the next couple of weeks is actually kind of nice for them,” Tocchio said.
The number is also not quite as big for the state championship as it was for the ECC title.
The Centaurs will “only” be seeking their ninth consecutive state title this weekend.
Marc Allard
Sports Information Director
The Woodstock Academy