- Details
- Category: Current Issue
captions, page 5:
Champs
The Woodstock Academy gymnastics team is all smiles after capturing its 11th-straight CIAC gymnastics state team championship Feb. 26. The Centaurs earned the Class M state title with a 140.3 total.
'Hardware'
Freshman Olivia Aleman, left, and junior Taylor Markley display the hardware the Woodstock Academy gymnastics team brought home after winning its 11th -straight CIAC gymnastics state team championship. Photos courtesy of Kasey Tocchio.
Gymnasts
capture 11th
straight state
championship
It’s not like Woodstock Academy coach Kasey Tocchio tells her gymnastics team how many state championships in a row the program has won before each state team championship meet.
Everyone knows it has been a long time since the Centaurs have failed to do so.
“The pressure is there and I feel like, everyone else seems to feel the pressure more than we do. I feel like it’s never been a pressure thing. They just feel confident and excited to improve individually so it’s not something we focus on,” Tocchio said.
Besides, the number is so astronomical that it’s becoming hard to remember.
“To be honest, someone interviewed me at the end of the meet (on Saturday) and asked how many in a row and I said, ‘I don’t know’,” Tocchio said. It is now 11 years in a row.
The Centaurs captured the Class M gymnastics state team championship with a 140.3 score Feb. 26. Fairfield Warde came in second at 136.375.
It’s the first time the Centaurs have won a Class M title since 2012. Ever since, they had been Class S state champs.
They also did not go into the competition as top seeds — Fairfield Warde had that honor.
Fairfield Warde had an average of 138.34 compared to Woodstock Academy’s 135.47.
But something had to be taken into account.
The Centaurs top two gymnasts, junior Taylor Markley and freshman Olivia Aleman, were not available through some and in Aleman’s case, most of the season.
Markley had ankle and back problem as well as some illness issues and Aleman’s back had been pretty cranky as well.
Now, with both of them healthy, the Centaurs have been regularly scoring over 140.
“Olivia has been solid and was solid for us again (Saturday). Being able to count on Olivia as our second top-scorer has been pretty awesome,”Tocchio said. “The middle scores are important. Our fourth scores, honestly, are even more important than our top scores at times because they make or break the 10ths at the end.”
Markley reached a personal goal: She cleared 38 in the All-Around competition, finishing with a 38.375. It did not earn her an individual prize, only the team scores count in the state championship meet.
Markley started off with a 9.6 in the vault, getting that score on her first pass before doing a “funky” second, according to Tocchio. Her warmup for bars was a little rough, but she managed to pull it together in the actual performance to get a 9.6 score before heading to beam.
Markley finished with a 9.7. “She was just flawless. It was so awesome to watch,” Tocchio said.
She capped it off with a 9.475 on the floor, a score that could have been better had she not stepped out-of-bounds before her first tumbling pass.
It means there is still a little room for improvement going into the State Open championship March 5. Markley goes into the event as the top-ranked individual gymnast in the State.
Aleman finished with a 9.375 on the floor, an 8.950 on the beam, an 8.875 on the vault and an 8.850 on the bars. Senior Lindsey Gillies was also solid with an 8.925 on the vault, an 8.550 on bars, 8.425 on floor and 8.1 on beam. “Angelina (Auger) is our fourth scorer on vault and she did an awesome job. Lindsey pulled out some awesome routines,” Tocchio said.
There is no winning streak on the line at the State Open. The Centaurs finished second to Southington in 2020.
“This team really wasn’t a part of that second-place finish and with COVID, this is kind of like a fresh start. There are some good teams in the State. Next weekend, we just want to do our best and prove that we can still be up there,” Tocchio said.
Because of the weather the Centaurs had three days straight without practice. “I think if anything, it may have helped by giving their bodies a little break,” Tocchio said.
The Centaurs had their final regular season meet and posted a 141.25- 124.25 win over NFA. Markley finished as best in the All-Around with a 37.75 score. Markley placed first in the vault (9.85); beam (9.5) and floor (9.6) and was second on the bars (9.0). Aleman was second in the All-Around with a 36.95 total. She was best on bars with a 9.0; was second on floor (9.4) and third on beam (9.2).
It meant the Centaurs finished undefeated in the regular season.
“It’s something the girls are really proud of,” Tocchio said. “It was exciting to compete one more time outside of our gym. The last couple of meets have been helpful because they have been on the road.”
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
..