The girls gymnastics regular season is coming to a close with the Valley Co-Op celebrating Senior Night against the Oswego Co-Op, one of the strongest opponents in the area. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Valley gymnasts fly high on the vault and uneven bars
One of the Valley seniors being honored is Rachel Li who starts off the festivities on the vault. A well-executed roundoff gives Li an 8.45. She finishes in the top seven in the vault and on the floor exercise.
Another senior from the Valley ready to hit the ground running is Bridget Anderson. She starts her final home meet with a 9.0 on the vault, which leads the team in the event.
The top performance on the vault comes from Sam Phillip from Oswego who gets tremendous height and hits the landing for a 9.7. Phillip holds the program record with a 9.8 vault in a meet earlier in the season. Teammate Ava Sullivan with a strong performance on the vault as well with a 9.5.
Sullivan doing just as well on the uneven bars later in the meet, showing great control as she moves to the high bar. The dismount into the front tuck leads to a 9.25, the top score in the event.
Lucia Caruso from the Valley goes to work on the bars, her lone event of the evening. Caruso starts on the low bar and leaps to the high, setting up her high-arching pike finish, which she completes without even a slight hop. An 8.80 rounds out the top five.
Another Valley gymnastics only competing on the bars is Ella Buchenauer. As she reaches the back half of her routine, she tucks her legs in on the dismount and lands well with a small step back. An 8.55 performance for Buchenauer.
Carli Finkley from the Valley injured her ankle during warmups putting her bar routine in jeopardy, but the senior was able to give it a go. She appears unincumbered as she flips between the two bars with ease before rotating three times around the high bar and completing the back tuck, while favoring that left ankle on the landing. A strong performance leads to a 9.20, second best on the bars and tops on the team.
Setting new highs on the balance beam
Moving over to the balance beam for the final two events. Jade Woulfe from the Valley readies for her dismount using a roundoff with a back twist. An solid 8.60 is the score from the judge.
While the Valley works on the beam, Oswego is performing the floor exercise. Sam Phillip continues her excellent performance in the all-around, displaying athleticism and control. A front handspring with a twist to finish things off leads to a 9.45. Phillip gets a 37.20 in the all-around for Oswego.
The top performer on the floor is another Oswego gymnast, Ava Sullivan who has her sights set on a new school record in the all-around. This performance on the floor will certainly help with her teammates cheering along to a routine that earns a 9.6.
Back on the beam where Carli Finkley is able to maintain her balance and composure whether she is flipping forwards or backwards. An 8.80 is the second best score for the Valley in the event.
Oswego dazzles on the floor
Oswego is pulling away in the team scoring with impressive depth. Frani Schulte earns an 8.95 on the floor while her sister Gabby Schulte adds an 8.75 and Emily Kroll scores an 8.6. Oswego has five of the top six scores on the floor.
Bridget Anderson puts on a strong display on both the beam and the floor exercise for the Valley. Her work on the beam is not only the top score in the event, but sets a new career best with a 9.5 She also leads the Valley with her performance in the floor exercise with a 9.05, giving the senior a 9 or better in all four events. A 36.55 in the all-around has Anderson well prepared for the upcoming post season.
The all-around winner for the meet is Ava Sullivan from the Oswego Co-Op. Wrapping things up on the beam, all she needs to do is not fall off and the school record will be hers. The senior delivers with another great finish for a 9.3. The program record is hers with a 37.65 all-around, breaking the decades old record of 37.5. Oswego wins with a team score of 144.65 while the Valley girls gymnastics performs well with a 138.
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