The Farmington Gymnastics team hosted Huron Valley on Friday – 12/14.  The final score:  FUG 145.75 ,  Huron Valley 137.475.  It was a great team score for the first meet of the year.  Anytime a team can hit the mid 140’s you have to be satisfied.  In a typical year this would place us in the top 10 teams in the state.  It creates excitement as we head into the season. 

    I knew we could hit in the low 140’s but due to some major rule changes I thought the scores would be lower.  We lost 4 seniors last year including the Division 2 State All-Around champion, Elisa Bills, and All-State Emily Stecevic.  Not only do you lose that talent, but you also lose the experience of gymnasts who competed many years for a state title and pulled it off last year.  Those gymnasts are invaluable. 

    We gained some talented gymnasts this year, but it remains to be seen how they come together as a team.  I have had talented squads in the past who did not reach their potential for all sorts of reasons. They never really gelled as a team that only cares about the team.  This is a good start.  It remains to be seen how this new group will continue, but I like our depth and talent.

    We have some very solid gymnasts returning from last year who competed for the state title:  Captains (seniors)  Kacey Noseworthy and Ava Farquhar, senior Shelby Smith, junior Lily Tyler, and sophomores Sydney and Allie Schultz.  They have the experience of competing at the highest level in the state and coming out on top.  Winning a State Championship takes incredible determination and tenacity and having these gymnasts returning for another year makes life easier for the coaches as they already know what to expect.  

Captain Olivia Deming, Maddy Weiner, Sara Kurkechain, and Zoe Rasico also return from last year.  They too have lots of potential.  As I look at the scores from the past meet I like the fact that we are very deep with solid gymnasts. This returning group remembers all the little things that got the job done last year and hopefully they can continue to grow and influence this new team in a positive manner.

   The new gymnasts joining the team will only make us better.  Elena Vargo, who decided to join the team her junior year, has shown the potential to be one of the better Division I gymnasts in the state. Kamini Playle has great potential.  I think she has more potential than what she thinks, so if we can get her to believe in herself I think she can go far.  We also added sophomores Andrea Ouellette, Kristin Fleming, and freshman Sara Lashbrook. It is interesting to see how past gymnasts mesh with incoming gymnasts, but so far it appears we are all on the same page. 

    The all - around scores at this meet were impressive.  The all-around is the total of all four events.  If a gymnast averages an 8.5 on each event they would score a 34.0 in the all-around.  That is a solid gymnast.  We had 6 gymnasts with higher scores.  Kamini Playle and Allie Schultz had scores of 34.425 and 34.675 respectively.  Next was Sydney Schultz with a 35.1 and Ava Farquhar with a 35.775.  If a gymnast averages a 9.0 on each event, they would hit a 36.0 all-around score.  This is not an easy feat to accomplish.  It takes routines loaded with difficult skills and performed without many flaws.  Kacey Noseworthy had a 36.10 and Elena Vargoa 37.725 – almost a 9.5 average.  All of these gymnasts should be very proud in these scores, especially for the first meet of the season.  Zoe Rasico also stood out on the balance beam by hitting an impressive 8.75.

    The team travels to Walled Lake Central on Tuesday 12/18 at 6:30 pm.