HHS gymnasts, harriers advance in state competition

Rhoades, Lynch, Smolinka star

By: Rudy Brandl
   Two Hillsborough High teams and three individual athletes advanced beyond Saturday’s sectional round of competition in their respective sports.
   At Hunterdon Central High in Flemington, the HHS gymnastics team finished third in the Central 2 Championships with 111.45 points. That total should leave the Raiders somewhere in the middle of the 10-team field in next Saturday’s NJSIAA Championships at Rutgers.
   Sophomore Christina Rhoades led Hillsborough by finishing fourth in the all-around (37.575), while senior teammate Mary-Kate Lynch placed 11th (36.525) also qualifying as an individual gymnast. Lynch (9.275 on floor) produced the highest score of the day for the Raiders, while Chrissy Weber added a sensational winning routine on the uneven bars (9.7).
   At Thompson Park in Jamesburg, the HHS boys’ cross country team finished fourth in the Central Jersey Group 4 Championships to advance next Saturday’s State Group 4 meet in Holmdel. A trio of top-20 finishers in Jordan Magath, Jason Walton and Joe Bernardo led the way for the boys, while freshman phenom Ashley Smolinka qualified as an individual by finishing sixth in the girls’ race.
   For more in-depth stories on all the HHS teams competing in the state playoffs, see Thursday’s Hillsborough Beacon.