Hillsborough gymnasts start season strong

Yates dominates first two meets

By: Rudy Brandl
   The Hillsborough High gymnasts would love for this season to be as exciting as their first two years on the high school circuit.
   If Saturday’s Pioneer Invitational is any indication, then the Raiders should be in for another thrilling and outstanding year.
   The HHS girls stood around in anticipation while the officials tallied the points to determine the team champion. Much like last year’s Central 2 Sectional Championships, the Raiders knew they were in the hunt but weren’t quite sure if they had scored enough points to prevail.
   Once they realized they had squeaked past conference and sectional rival Hunterdon Central for their second straight Pioneer crown, the Hillsborough girls celebrated another big start to the season. Hillsborough (103.875) edged Central (103.475) by less than one-half point.
   "It was really exciting and really close," HHS second-year head coach Beth Murrin said. "We had a far from perfect day and we had no idea (about the score), but we really pulled together after a tough start."
   The Raiders struggled on beam and weren’t up to par in the floor exercise but gained momentum with a strong performance on vault and solid finish on the uneven bars.
   "Vault was the turnaround for us," Murrin said. "The first two events weren’t great, but they really pulled together. They picked up big on vault."
   Senior Kim Yates dominated the meet by winning three of the four events and the all-around. Yates kept the Raiders afloat early by taking first on beam (9.325) and was phenomenal in winning the floor (9.40). She also won vault (9.0) but was edged by South Plainfield’s Kim Dziomba (9.4) on bars (9.35). Yates was nearly two points better in the all-around than Dziomba or Central’s Marisa Santonastasso, tallying a whopping total of 37.075.
   "It’s nice for Kim to win it as a senior," Murrin said.
   Yates is primed for a big year after Saturday’s performance. She won all four events and the all-around in Thursday’s regular season victory over Union, posting a 9.15 on vault and 9.1 on floor.
   "She’s so consistent and she really sets the tone for the team," Murrin said. "She’s coming off a great USAG season where she made it to nationals. Just to make it there is huge. We’re expecting her to have a great season."
   Fellow senior Ashley Miller will once again be a key to the team’s success. Unfortunately, Miller hasn’t been able to stay healthy the past two years. She competed in selected events because of an elbow problem last season. She bounced back from that injury after off-season surgery but is now dealing with a stress fracture in her right foot. Miller will be relegated to the bars and beam routines for now.
   "She can’t take the pounding of floor and vault, but she’ll still help us in the other events," Murrin said.
   Miller finished eighth on beam (8.35) and ninth on bars (8.125) at the Pioneer Invitational.
   The Raiders also got a big day from freshman Kristen Watts, who finished eighth all-around (33.65) after taking second in the dual meet with a slightly higher score (33.825). Watts has done very well on vault so far and came up with a huge 8.9 in a pressure situation Saturday.
   "She’s going to be our third key player," Murrin said. "We still need to clean up some form, but she has great skills. She’s real consistent and solid in four events."
   Watts finished second on vault and seventh on bars (8.25) while adding a respectable 8.2 on beam in Saturday’s invitational.
   Sophomore Kyra Lysyj and freshman Krystina DeLuca will provide the key depth and balance that will keep this program on the state level despite the loss of Marisa Van Cleef, who elected to play field hockey this fall. Lysyj is a returning team member who does good work on beam and floor, while DeLuca is best on vault and floor. DeLuca posted an 8.7 to aid Saturday’s title push. Lysyj was third in the all-around vs. Union, capping a 1-2-3 sweep for the Raiders.
   Junior Allison Logatto returns for her third year with the program, while freshmen Lisa Nichols and Nikki Williams round out the roster.
   Hillsborough’s schedule will be challenging but not quite as busy this season. The Raiders will stick to one meet per week in most cases, with two competitions slated on a few occasions. Murrin has a talented team but doesn’t want to burn out her athletes.
   "Gymnastics meets are kind of hard on the body," she said. "It’s nice to have time to recoup. We can have more practices and give them a day off once in a while. We don’t want to wear down at the end of the season."
   Chances are, the Raiders will still be competing at the end. Saturday’s team title puts them on course for a third straight appearance in the NJSIAA Championships in November.