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Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week

Simon rewrites MHS record book

Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
   The Simon name has been prominent in the Montgomery High gymnastics record book for several years.
   It’s just that lately, the name Kelly has been being replaced with Erin.
   Erin Simon is the younger sister of Kelly Simon, who graduated three years ago with many of the Cougars’ records for scoring and points. Now, Erin is a senior and on her way to possibly graduating with every Cougar record.
   ”She has been putting up some excellent scores,” said Montgomery coach Johanna Snedeker, whose team is off to an impressive 6-2 start this season. “She had a 9.5 on vault in her last meet. She has posted some real good scores when she hits her mark.
   ”She’s just had a great career for us. She came in as a freshman and was a very good gymnast and she’s just continued to improve every year.”
   Last week against Ridge, Simon put her name at the top of the record book when she recorded a career best score of 9.5 on floor exercise. She finished that meet with a 36.425 for an overall score, which is just short of her own school record of 37.327.
   What’s made this season all the more remarkable for Simon is that she is coming off an injury that sidelined her for two months this past spring and cost her time competing for her club team.
   ”She had her appendix out last spring and she has come back mentally stronger and physically stronger,” Snedeker said. “She really fought for it. Erin is a fighter. She has guts. It takes a lot of work to come back the way she did.”
   Her strong performances this year have led the way for a Montgomery team that just might end the season being regarded as the best the school has ever had. The Cougars scored a season-high 106.175 in splitting a tri-meet on Monday.
   Erin Simon is the Princeton Packet Athlete of the Week.
   Simon herself is surprised how well she has rebounded after missing all of the spring competition. It was a long road back, but one she managed to handle.
   ”My appendix burst last spring, so I was not able to compete for the big USAG meet,” Simon said. “It was hard because I had the surgery in March and I was in the hospital for 10 days. I was out for two months and I missed the whole spring season.
   ”Once I got strong enough, I was able to start competing again. I made it back for the high school season and I still have competitions in the spring I will be able to do. I was scared a little bit at the beginning. But once I got back in the gym, I was much more confident.”
   Simon’s 9.5 on floor broke the record of 9.425 she already held. She also holds the vault mark at 9.775, the beam at 9.5 and the all around. In her next meet on Tuesday at South Brunswick, she will likely pass her older sister and break the record for career points. Kelly Simon finished her career with 1,536.845 points, just 23.21 more than Erin’s total.
   ”I’m actually shocked at how I am doing this year because I am adding more skills than I had last year,” Simon said. “I’ve been falling, but I am competing on harder skills. On beam and bars I’ve added more difficult skills. I’ve fallen sometimes, but I have also been able to stick some.”
   The lone mark not held by a Simon at Montgomery is the bar record, which is held by Liz Edwards at 9.45. Erin Simon may reach that mark, but more than the individual records, she’s interested in the success of the team. And that means helping this group reach the state tournament.
   ”I definitely want to make states and to also make it as a team as well,” Simon said. “We have a good team this year. We have some new freshmen who are doing very well. And we have some sophomores who are also good. It’s a good team.”
   Snedeker, the only coach Montgomery has ever had, would tend to agree.
   ”When Erin was a freshman and her sister was a senior, we had a very good team,” Snedeker said. “That was a similar team with a senior and good freshmen. This year we have Jackie Violette, who is a talented freshman. It’s like when we had Erin and Kelly.
   ”I think this team has a chance to do very well. We’ve put up some good scores and we should only get better.”
   That’s been the story of Erin Simon’s career, getting better every year. And this year she’ll close out a career that has been the best in Cougar history.
   ”It’s been a lot of fun with the freshmen we have on the team this year. I am friendly with a lot of them and I’ve tried to help them out.”