Marlboro High School’s Melissa Astarita made a name for herself as a freshman. She finished fifth in the all-around competition at the NJSIAA Individual Gymnastics Championships. That was on the heels of her victory at the Central Jersey Section I meet. DORINE SHAPIRO The 2014 gymnastics season provided one highlight after another, as individuals and teams both sparkled.
In Howell High School’s Monica Servidio and Marlboro High School’s Melissa Astarita, the Freehold Regional High School District (FRHSD) had two of the best gymnasts in the entire state. Servidio won the Shore Conference all-around title, and Astarita took the NJSIAA Central Jersey Section I all-around crown. Both medaled at the state individual championships, with Servidio finishing third and Astarita coming in fifth.
Both Servidio and Astarita were named to the New Jersey Girls Gymnastics Coaches Association All-State Team for the all-around.
Colts Neck High School had the best team in the district, but it had to settle for being the public school champion of the Shore Conference B North Division, as it had to compete against state champion Red Bank Catholic (RBC) High School. The Cougars (11-1 in dual meets) were also second to the Caseys at the conference championships.
In A North, there was a deserving threeway tie for the championship between Howell, Marlboro and Freehold High School.
Defending champion Howell beat Marlboro early in the season, but it lost by the slimmest of margins to Freehold in their dual meet showdown, putting the Colonials, who were making their debut in the division, in the driver’s seat.
However, the Colonials had to get past a Marlboro team that was improving with every meet. Sure enough, the Mustangs beat the Colonials in their dual meet to create trichampions.
Colts Neck, Marlboro, Freehold and Howell finished fourth through seventh at the state sectionals, with Manalapan High School ninth.
At the Shore Conference meet, Colts Neck was second, Howell was sixth, Marlboro was seventh, Freehold was eighth and Manalapan was ninth.
Servidio and Astarita head up the News Transcript’s 2014 All-FRHSD Gymnastics Team. Completing the team with them are Colts Neck’s Sophie Garito and Charlotte Haaf and Freehold’s Arah Godbole.
Those earning honorable mention include Samantha Morrison, Colts Neck; Isabella Schaffer, Freehold; and Hailey Strieby and Lily Chozick, Manalapan. Sophomore Servidio managed to improve on her great freshman season, as difficult as that was. She was Howell’s rock during the dual meet season, as she led the Rebels to their second straight division title. Her season-high score was 38.475.
Servidio was primed for big things in the championship meets after the dual meet campaign. It started off with her victory at the conference championships, scoring 38.200 in the all-around. She added the championship on the floor exercise to her all-around triumph with a 9.725 score. She also took second on bars, third on the beam and fourth on the vault.
At the state sectionals, Servidio slipped to fourth in the all-around, but she came back strong at the state championships by finishing third with a 37.900 score that was just .10 behind winner Julianna Drapkin of Holmdel High School (38.000). Fifth as a freshman, Servidio moved up two rungs on the medal stand with two more years to rise to the top. The Rebel was second on the floor at the state meet.
Last year, Servidio announced her arrival on the scene as a freshman. This year, it was Astarita’s turn to make a huge impact as a freshman. She helped the young Mustangs improve throughout the season and eventually become A North tri-champions. During the course of the year, Astarita broke every Marlboro record, including the allaround with her 38.350.
In her Shore Conference debut, Astarita was third in the all-around and first on vault (9.7). She was runner-up to Servidio on the floor.
She made her biggest splash in Central Jersey Section I, scoring 38.050 and winning the all-around by .05 from RBC’s Alex Cucich. She won the beam competition and was third on all the other events.
In her state championship debut, she did herself proud by finishing fifth.
The Colonials depended on Godbole to bring them consistent scores on all four events during the dual meet season, which helped bring home another championship to the program.
Godbole was 11th in the all-around at the state sectionals (35.525). Her best event there was on the beam, which she tied for 10th on. For the season, her best all-around score was 36.950.
What separated Colts Neck from the other district teams was its all-around depth. The Cougars had three strong gymnasts in Garito, Haaf and Morrison, who finished eighth through 10th at the Shore Conference meet. Each scored better than 36 points.
Garito, a sophomore, was eighth in the all-around at the conference and state sectionals. Her finish in Central Jersey qualified her for the state championships, where she finished 18th. Her best score was 36.875.
Haaf was another freshman who made a big impact on her team. She finished 10th in the all-around at the conference championships and Central Jersey meets. Her top score of the year was 36.550.
With so much youth (no seniors) there is a lot to look forward to in the future. The sport is in very good hands.