Team tied or broke all school records
By: Rudy Brandl
There’s no doubt this year’s Hillsborough High gymnastics team was the finest in school history. The 2005 Raiders have the numbers to prove it.
Forget the fact that they didn’t win a sectional title and finished fifth in the NJSIAA Championships team finals. Only one previous HHS squad had finished as high as fifth in the state, and the two others that captured sectional titles didn’t have to battle two-time defending state champion Bishop Ahr in the Central 2 Sectional Championships.
Hillsborough broke just about every team and individual record this fall. The Raiders set most of these new standards in a regular season victory over North Hunterdon on a day when they exploded for 113.125 points, by far a school record.
That number also stands as the second-highest team score in state history. HHS was in the competition the day Bishop Ahr posted 113.375 early in the season at the Pioneer Invitational.
Although the Raiders never caught Bishop Ahr, they enjoyed many memorable days and retained their status as one of the state’s premier high school gymnastics programs.
Hillsborough has qualified for the state team finals for all seven years of the program’s existence, so claiming this as the finest is truly a compliment to this fine group of young ladies.
"The whole season was such a success," HHS head coach Beth Murrin said. "It was wonderful. It was great."
Hillsborough set or tied every team and individual record this season. The Raiders did most of their damage to the record books in the Oct. 3 victory over North Hunterdon.
That was a day when all the gymnasts stuck their routines. It was the type of performance Murrin was hoping to see again in November.
"That was probably the highlight," Murrin said. "The kids knew they were good and they just put everything together that day."
Lauren Watts put her name into the record books several times during that meet and wrote a large chapter in her great scholastic resume. Watts set the HHS record for best all-around score (38.1), established a new mark on the balance beam (9.675) and contributed to team records on vault, bars and floor.
Watts had previously tied Ashley Miller’s mark on vault (9.5) in a September dual meet. The HHS senior contributed to a team record on beam (28.575) in the team’s second meet vs. North.
Watts will graduate with her name linked to eight of the 10 possible school records.
"She’s been the backbone of our program," Murrin said. "When we needed her to do something, she came through for us. She was confident and she knew what she could do. She’s the one that everyone looks to and she handles that pressure."
Watts wasn’t alone in that department. Her younger teammates showed plenty of poise and executed many difficult routines with great precision.
Freshmen Chrissy Weber and Christina Rhoades emerged as major contributors and sophomore Mary Kate Lynch had another fine season. Juniors Leah Goldberg, Kristen Shaw and Melissa Arango chipped in with solid scores throughout the year.
Weber tied the school record (9.65) on bars and joined Watts on all four team event records. Lynch set a new HHS mark on floor (9.725) and was part of the team records on vault (27.875) and floor (28.825). Shaw scored 9.5 on beam to help the team establish a new standard. Goldberg joined the Watts-Weber duo in setting the mark on bars (28.3).
"They found a way to consistently keep bettering themselves over the course of the season," Murrin said. "They wanted to keep breaking their records and they broke very record."
The Raiders became a force on the uneven bars, an event that used to cause problems. All the girls added difficulty to their routines and started executing on a more consistent basis.
"We definitely have one of the deepest bar lineups in the state and I have to attribute that all to the kids," Murrin said. "Chrissy came to us very talented on bars. She started the year with an easier routine but she worked on it and wanted to get a better routine. Lauren was a little less confident on bars last year but she put in another skill and connected it to a harder skill. She definitely worked really hard."
"We have stronger skills on bars," Watts added. "We’ve all been pushing ourselves to get better skills."
The Raiders only had one glitch in their final competition of the year at the NJSIAA Championships. Aside from the balance beam, which was a nightmare with almost every gymnast falling at least once, the HHS girls performed extremely well. They know that a higher team placement was there for the taking.
"As good as this program has been, we can still be better," Murrin said. "We have the kids who have the talent to do that. Unfortunately, there’s only one team in the state that gets to finish with a big win. This only pushes us to be better. We’ll continue to work hard."
"I’m proud of everyone," Weber said. "We had some difficult times but our whole team worked together."
While it will be difficult to replace a standout gymnast like Watts, the Raiders move on with several talented underclassmen. Weber and Lynch qualified for the state meet as all-arounders and Rhoades just missed by a fraction of a point.
"I’m sure I’ll improve and be more consistent," Weber said. "I’m excited for next year. I have a lot of areas to improve on and I’m excited to go back to the gym and work on my new skills."
Hillsborough finished the regular season with a 13-1 record, losing only to Bridgewater-Raritan on a day when the team was dealing with some injury issues. The Raiders bounced back from that unexpected loss and rolled through the rest of the season, qualifying for the state finals as the No. 3 seed. While she was still hoping that perfect team day would push Bishop Ahr, Murrin wasn’t disappointed after her girls finished second in the section and fifth in the state.
"I’m definitely happy with what our team accomplished," said Watts, who will graduate along with fellow seniors Nancy Todaro, Breanne Swedler, Kristen Balzano and Kelly Gewain.
"This was by far the best team I’ve coached," Murrin said. "I’m proud of everything they did this season. It’s like I say every year, we’ll be back next year."

