Simon helps MHS gymnasts stay on roll
By: Bob Nuse
Even though Erin Simon is just a freshman, she’s been a fixture around the Montgomery High gymnastics program for several years.
Her older sister, Kelly, is a senior on the team this year and Erin has been coming to watch her compete for years. She’s also been a member of the gymnastics program at the Montgomery Middle School, so she was certainly no stranger when she arrived on the team this year.
But even though the Cougars knew about Simon, they could not have expected the kind of impact she has had on the program. Montgomery is in the midst of its best season ever, improving to 5-3 on Tuesday with a win over North Hunterdon. In each of their last six meets, the Cougars have set a school record for points.
Last Friday, Simon turned in what had been her highest all around score of the season when she recorded a 35.4 in the Cougars’ sweep of North Brunswick and East Brunswick. She has since eclipsed that mark, scoring a 36.225 on Tuesday in the win over North Hunterdon.
"The freshmen have fit in very nicely," Montgomery coach Johanna Snedeker said. "They’re focused and they work hard. They’ve brought a competitive spirit to the team that we haven’t seen in the past. We have a lot of good, healthy competition going on now that we have not seen before. Even with Erin, each practice we look at what else we can do. And Bridget O’Brien, our other freshman, is No. 2 all around right now.
"Erin is very committed and Bridget is as well. For the gymnasts that are doing both high school and their club team, it’s a tough season. It takes a lot of commitment."
Simon’s performances during the season have played a key roll in the Cougars putting together their best season ever.
Erin Simon is the Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week.
While she is just a freshman, Simon is an experienced gymnast. She started at the age of 5 and has been competing at a high level with Paramount Gymnastics in Hillsborough. But competing for her high school team is special for Simon, who feels like she’s been part of the team for more than just a couple of months.
"In middle school we had a team, so I knew the freshmen," Simon said. "And because my sister has been on the team, I already knew all of the other girls. It’s fun being on the team with my sister. She’s a captain, so she helps everyone out.
"It’s fun to be with my friends and with the kids from school. I like being able to practice with them. When you’re at the gym, it’s not the same because you’re not with the kids that you go to school with each day."
And for as talented as Simon and her teammates are, even they could not have expected the kind of success they’ve had this year.
"I’m surprised," Simon said. "Until this year, we had never broken 100 in a meet. Then we had a 105.6 and we’ve been improving each week. That’s what is really amazing. Each meet we get a higher score."
At the beginning of the season, Snedeker attributed the higher scores to the spring floors at other gyms. But even as the Cougars have returned to compete at home, the scores have continued to climb.
"The girls have been very comfortable at home on the regular floor," said Snedeker, whose team posted a 107.5 against North Hunterdon on Tuesday. "This is the one they’re used to practicing on and we’ve been doing well at home. Erin and Meg (Florio) have been doing the Tsukahara vault, which is a high level vault and it can score higher. It starts out with a degree of difficulty of 9.6. Erin has a tuck and a pike, and Meg has a tuck. We haven’t seen that kind of vault at Montgomery since Liz Edwards was here.
"We’ve started to break into some of Liz’s records. Kelly Simon is about to break the record for career points, she needs about three more meets. And Erin has broken into some of the records. Coming into this season, Liz had the top five scores in every event and all around. But Erin cracked into that in some of the events. She’s not at the top yet, but she has this year and three more years left."
And she’s bringing vaults like the Tsukahara to the program.
"We just started it this year because this is the first year that we’ve had a table vault," Simon said. "I had done it with my club team, but we hadn’t done it here at school because we didn’t have the table vault."
Now the Cougars not only have a table vault, but a record-setting team as well. And they’ve begun to not only compete with, but beat some of the teams they had never been able to compete with in the past.
"We’re in there," Snedeker said. "We just have to prove that we belong. It’s very different than in the past. The goals we have set are different than the goals we’ve set in the past. Hopefully we can stay healthy and continue to make the kind of progress that we have made this season."