Team finishes third in state finals
By: Rudy Brandl
PISCATAWAY A more relaxed approach helped the Hillsborough High gymnasts put on the finest final team performance in school history in Saturday’s NJSIAA Championships at the Livingston Recreation Center.
Rather than focus on beating defending champ Bishop Ahr or improving on the No. 5 ranking the team has reached several times at this meet, the Raiders zoned in on posting their best team score and letting the results speak for themselves. HHS head coach Beth Murrin has watched her team struggle in previous state meets and wanted to take off some pressure.
The HHS girls set new standards for most points (109.35) and highest team placement of third in the state behind champion Bishop Ahr and runner-up Red Bank Catholic. Saturday’s stellar performance also allows Hillsborough to claim the ranking of top public school in New Jersey.
"We wanted to try to beat what we’ve done here before," Murrin said. "We’re always going into states stressed out. We wanted to focus on ourselves today. We wanted to challenge ourselves. Not worrying about placement really helped. We did a really good job of keeping that under wraps and staying calm."
The Raiders entered the state finals as the No. 3 seed, the same as last year, which meant they followed the identical event rotation of vault-bars-beam-floor. That familiarity also helped the girls gain a comfort zone.
"We’re finally used to this format of getting ready fast and that really helped," Murrin said. "We had the same rotation as last year. Everyone knew what to expect."
"We’re just really excited," HHS junior Mary-Kate Lynch added. "It helped coming into the meet with a different mindset. The girls were more relaxed and we did better."
HHS sophomore Christina Rhoades capped her outstanding individual season by finishing 12th in the all-around (37.35) to lead the Raiders. Rhoades posted superb scores on vault (9.4), bars (9.25), beam (9.35) and floor (9.35). As usual, Rhoades was more concerned about the impact her scores had on the team.
"We just wanted to do the best we could and make some school history for ourselves," Rhoades said. "That’s what we did today."
Rhoades ranked sixth in the all-around following the team session but fell a few notches after the individuals competed in the afternoon. She still earned a spot on the podium for finishing 10th on beam and 12th all-around.
"I wanted to stay consistent with my skills and I’m excited to hit 4-for-4," Rhoades said. "I didn’t add anything new. No crazy tricks. I just wanted to stay calm and cool and be consistent."
Rhoades nailed her Yurchenko pike vault for the second straight week to start her day. She followed with another solid routine on bars and finished with a flourish on the floor. Rhoades achieved some redemption on her third event, the balance beam. After falling on her dismount the previous week at sectionals, Rhoades finished her difficult routine with a crisp landing this time.
"If there is a meet to stick it, this is it," Rhoades said. "It’s the biggest meet of the season. It’s a big accomplishment for me to stick beam at states."
Fellow sophomore Chrissy Weber contributed two big scores in the first two rotations of the day. Weber used a pike tsuk to produce a 9.125 mark on vault and performed her usual impressive bars routine to score 9.425 and finish eighth in the state. Weber hit the difficult straddleback hand skill and finished her routine with a double-back dismount.
The Raiders also counted scores from Lynch on vault (8.95), bars (8.6), beam (8.875) and floor (9.075). Senior Leah Goldberg posted a 9.075 on beam and freshman Jess Leinbach notched an 8.85 on floor.
While Rhoades decided to stick with her scores from the team session, Lynch returned to compete again on beam and floor. Lynch wasn’t satisfied with her scores on beam and floor and made significant improvements in both events. Lynch posted 9.425 scores to finish seventh on beam and 10th on floor.
"She nailed both routines," Murrin said. "It was definitely a good decision. I’m so happy for her."
Lynch has endured serious pain in her elbow throughout the season and managed to survive all the way until the final event of the state meet. She was rewarded with two appearances on the state podium for placement in the top 12.
"I was definitely happy to make it into states and that I was able to compete as an individual," Lynch said. "I’m having surgery in a couple of days so this is my last meet for a while."
Most of Lynch’s teammates stuck around to watch long after the team competition had ended. It’s that type of camaraderie that has made HHS gymnastics something special. Saturday’s performance simply continued that trend and took it to another level.
"We had a lot of people on the podium and it was a great day," Murrin said. "We’re the No. 1 public school in the state. It’s just breaking another barrier. I always feel like we can finish in the top three. We put things together and finally did it."

