Isabella Rice chosen for national gymnastics team
Isabella Rice, Winthrop High’s stellar senior gymnast, has been selected for one of the 20 spots on the girls national team that will compete in May in Ft. Myers, Florida. Isabella was chosen after her performance at the recent MIAA North Sectional State Meet, which featured the top 12 teams from the north.
“This definitely was the big news of the meet for us,” said long-time WHS coach Peter Gobiel. “It’s quite an accomplishment to be selected for this team.”
“During the competition the national coaches were scouting senior members of each team,” added WHS coach Christa Vaccaro. “Isabella didn’t realize that she had hit her best beam routine in front of the head coach of the national team. I happened to turn around after she dismounted with him five feet behind me and I got the nod saying, ‘Well done’.”
Isabella follows in the footsteps of Brandi DiCicco, the last gymnast from Winthrop to be selected for the national team in 2022.
Viking gymnasts do well in North Sectionals
The Winthrop High gymnastics team turned in an excellent performance at the recent Massachusetts North Sectionals Meet. The Vikings, who were seeded 11th out of the 12-team field, finished in ninth place. The top four teams advanced to the state finals to meet the four top teams from the south.
“The only goal I gave the girls was to try and move up one spot to prove to everyone that they belonged at that competition,” said WHS coach Peter Gobiel.
The competition had Winthrop starting on the balance beam. “All season long we haven’t hit beam as a team,” noted WHS coach Christa Vaccaro, but the Vikings outdid themselves at the sectionals, with all six girls hitting their routines for the first time this season to score the team’s highest total of the year on the beam.
First up was senior Mellissa Cash, who stuck her routine and started Wimhrop off on the right foot. Eighth-grader Gaby Ilie stuck her routine, scoring a 7.65. Saugus junior Callie Anderson hit her routine and scored an 8.0.
“We were on a roll at that point,” said Gobiel. Junior Zoe Rey scored her highest score all season, 8.3, with yet another stuck routine.
The pressure for Julia Duplin and Isabella Rice, the last two Viking competitors oin the event, at that point was tremendous, but both seniors accepted the challenge and delivered their routines, tieing with a score of 8.7.
The next event was the floor exercise with senior Sara Jurovich up first, scoring a 7.65. Both Brooklyn Banfield and Callie Anderson tied, scoring 7.9. Julia, Isabella, and Zoe made some significant changes to their routines for this competition and all three turned in beautiful routines, scoring 8.3, 8.4, and 8.75 respectively.
The Vikings had the vault next, though without their top-scoring vaulter (Macy Werstak, who was out with a broken toe.) “The team’s goal was to score all 8’s,” said Vaccaro.
First up was Julia Hurley, scoring an 8.125. Although Gaby Ilie hasn’t competed on vault all season, she took Macy’s place, hitting her vault for an 8.15.
Seniors Banfield and Jurovich stuck their vaults for scores of 8.15. Zoe Rey, who has been solid all season, nailed both her vaults, scoring 8.5 out of a possible 8.6. Isabella Rice completed her flipping vault, sticking her second one, to score an 8.85.
Winthrop’s last event was the bars and the Vikings knew they had to bring their best routines, considering the head judge on that event was the lowest-scoring judge at the competition. “The girls all knew their scores were going to be low, but fair for everyone. Their job was to hit their routines and the scoring will even out in the end,” said Gobiel.
Mellissa Cash started off with a nice routine, with Sara Jurovich right behind her with a 7.15. Callie Anderson hit her bar routine with a 7.25, followed by Gaby Ilie hitting a 7.55. Winthrop’s two all-arounds, Zoe Rey and Isabella Rice, finished with scores of 8.4 and 8.45.
“Our two all-arounds carried the team all day long,” noted Gobiel. “I’m really proud of the job they did to bring us to ninth place in the competition.”
“It was a great way to end our season,” added Vaccaro.