• Gymnastics

  • Woodstock Academy gymnastics  

     

  • Team Updates

     

  • Gymnastics celebrates another state title

    It has become an annual tradition.

    On Monday, The Woodstock Academy gymnastics team was honored at Head of School Chris Sandford’s home for its eighth straight state championship season.

    “It was a really special season because we had to fight for it this year,” coach Kasey Tocchio said. “It wasn’t expected so it was really special to see all the girls pull together.”

    Read the story and see a photo on Centaur Nation.

    Centaurs are 6th-best in New England

    The Centaurs gymnastics team traveled to Derry, N.H. over the weekend to compete in the New England gymnastics championship.

    The Centaurs finished sixth with a 138.625 team total.

    Bridgewater, Mass. was the winner with a 145.150.

    Ali Crescimanno paced the Centaurs with a 35.3 individual total, good for 17th in the All-Around competition.

    “I am very happy and proud of the girls for the way they represented themselves (Saturday),” coach Kasey Tocchio said. “Our goal going into the meet was to be there for one another, do great gymnastics and have fun being in the moment and they did just that. They have all put a lot of dedication and heart into this team and it showed again (Saturday).”

    The highlight, according to Tocchio, was the bars.

    The Centaurs finished second as a team on the apparatus with a 35.475 total.

    “It was our best bar lineup of the season,” Tocchio said.

    Crescimanno finished with a 9.4, fifth best in the competition while Jenna Davidson added an 8.8, tied for 17th best, and Lydia Taft, bothered by back troubles, competed for a first time this season and delivered an 8.725.

    “It was very special to have her a part of that New England meet,” Tocchio said of Taft’s return.

    Grace Gronski put together a 34.1 total including an 8.85 in the floor exercise with Maddie Grube (8.75 beam; 8.325 bars) putting together a 33.725 and Davidson a 33.550 including a 9.1 (11th best in the competition) on the floor.

    “Individually we have had solid performances from Maddie, Abby (Vaida), Grace and Elise (Boisvert) all season and Ali and Jenna came back strong for us. The return of Lydia this last meet tied it all together for us this year,” Tocchio said.

    Centaurs claim 2nd place finish at State Open championship

    The Centaurs gymnastics team knew it would be very difficult to keep its string of State Open championships going.

    Greenwich came into Pomperaug High School Saturday as the favorite and left with the title as it outscored the Centaurs, 143.525-138.425. Trumbull, the No. 2 seed, finished third.

    The second-place finish ended the Centaurs string of six consecutive State Open titles.

    Junior Ali Crescimanno finished fourth in the bars and was the top All-Around finisher for the Centaurs in 10th place.

    Freshman Grace Gronski placed fifth on the floor while Jenna Davidson was ninth on the beam for The Academy.

    8 straight state titles for Centaurs

    Winning a state championship never gets old.

    The Centaurs gymnastics team made it eight consecutive state titles with a 139.175-132.8 win over Mercy High School in the Class S state championship at Pomperaug High School Saturday.

    “Very proud,” Centaurs coach Kasey Tocchio said of the continued success. “I’m proud that we’ve been able to keep it up and we can see it keep going for years to come. We’re going to keep moving in that direction.”

    The Centaurs won two Class M championships before being shifted to Class S where they have dominated for the last six years.

    Tocchio did have to do some work on Saturday.

    The Centaurs did not put together a great effort on the vault and the faces were long, especially those of Ali Crescimanno and Jenna Davidson.

    Crescimanno said she over-rotated on her first vault and didn’t hit her landing. On her second attempt, she fell short and felt pain in her left ankle.

    Crescimanno limped back to the bleachers after scoring an 8.75 in the event. She had her ankle taped and, after the meet, was sporting a bag of ice.

    Davidson was fighting her emotions when she came back down the runway after she also landed short on her second attempt. She settled for an 8.5.

    “It’s not hard,” Davidson said of being able to recover from the disappointing first event.”You just have to look to the next event and try to help your team out.”

    Tocchio and assistant coach Gene Michael Deary called for an impromptu team meeting after the vault.

    “I told them that we still had a meet to finish. We still had to place in the top four (to qualify for the State Open). We couldn’t throw that away. We knew that in this meet, we were ahead by a lot compared to (Mercy High School). It was the bigger picture. Can we finish this meet? Can we still get a big score?” Tocchio said.

    The Woodstock Academy coach got her answer.

    Although the scores weren’t exactly record-shattering, they were more than enough.

    “Nothing came easy (Saturday), Crescimanno said. “It made it that much better to see the outcome and we all worked well as a team.”

    Crescimanno, newly taped ankle and all, followed with a 9.175 on the bars with Davidson at 8.45.

    Maddie Grube followed with the best beam routine, an 8.65 while Abby Vaida was tops on floor for the Centaurs with a 9.175 total to lead them to another state title.

    “You don’t want to be the team that ends the streak. I had faith in this team all along and I knew we were going to do it,” Crescimanno said.

     

    Centaurs make it 9 straight

    Ali Crescimanno and Jenna Davidson have cast their injuries aside and are pressing forward.

    The two, along with Maddie Grube, combined to lead the Woodstock Academy girls gymnastics team to its ninth straight Eastern Connecticut Conference championship on Wednesday, 141.7-131.85 over Stonington at Deary’s Gymnastics.

    The Centaurs did have some rebuilding to do.

    They lost their top two scorers in Paige Stuyniski and Grace Logan to graduation.

    But the streak of championships continued.

    “It’s awesome. I’m very happy with how the team has come back after losing Grace and Paige. I think we’ve done a great job,” Davidson said.

    Davidson had been limited to just a couple of events for most of the season due to injuries to both of her knees.

    “It was very tough to come back from. Everything was a challenge including just getting back into the gym. It’s nice to come back and be able to do what I was doing before. It feels nice,” Davidson said.

    Crescimanno got off to a slow start due to injuries suffered in an automobile accident over the summer.

    “It was unexpected and unfortunate, but I’m glad to be back and be strong again,” Crescimanno said.

    Crescimanno finished as the ECC individual champion.

    She finished just ahead of Grube with a 35.6 total.

    “There were definitely mistakes in my routine so I wish it was a little higher, but I really can’t complain,” she added. “Being ECC champion was definitely a goal this year and I’m glad I accomplished it.”

    Crescimanno felt very good about her opening routine. She finished with a 9.4 on the vault and followed that up with a 9.1 on the bars.

    But Crescimanno slipped to 8.6 on the beam and fell on her floor routine, finishing with an 8.5.

    “It definitely was not Ali’s best meet (Wednesday), she knows that. She has a couple of things to work on. (Maddie Grube and Jenna Davidson) had great meets (Wednesday). I’m so excited for them,” Woodstock Academy coach Kasey Tocchio said.

    Grube was right behind Crescimanno with a 35.5 while Davidson logged a 35.45.

    “We’ve all been working really hard in practice, boosting our start values, and it’s starting to pay off,”

    Grube said.

    Grube upgraded her vault and it showed in the scoring where she finished with a 9.0.

    “All of my routines were very consistent. I was just happy to nail them all,” Grube said.

    Her best was the beam where she hit a 9.15. She finished with an 8.7 on the beam and an 8.65 on the floor.

    Davidson had a pair of 9.2 scores in the vault and beam, an 8.75 on the floor and an 8.3 on the bars.

    “We’re pretty close. We’ve been working hard and we’re neck-and-neck. It’s been pretty fun,” Davidson said.

    Those performances helped push the Centaurs, who also won the ECC regular season title, to a 141.7 total.

    It was the highest point performance of the season for The Academy and Tocchio hopes it means good things for the upcoming state competition.

    “It does say good things. I think they are in good spirits and they know it’s reachable (both a state championship and a State Open title), because it is reachable. We have to have our best meet so that puts the pressure on a little bit. We just have to stay confident and we will be all right,” Tocchio said.

    Abby Vaida posted a 33.7 and was best in the floor competition with a 9.05 score.

    Grace Gronski finished with a 32.85 and Elise Boisvert had a 32.8 for the Centaurs.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     


     

     

     

     

     

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    Schedule/Results

Centaurs Opponent Time/Score
The Academy vs. Old Lyme Monday, Dec. 18; FINAL - 137.55-114.65 (W)
The Academy at Old Lyme Thurs., Dec 21; FINAL 135.75 – 116.41 (W)
The Academy vs. Stonington Wednesday, Jan. 10 FINAL Woodstock Academy 132.6, Stonington 124.2, South Windsor 123.85
The Academy at Killingly Monday, Jan. 22 FINAL 136.4 - 121.5 (W)
The Academy at Norwich Free Academy Thursday, Jan. 25 FINAL: 137.35 - 125.75 (W)
The Academy at Killingly Monday, Jan. 29 FINAL 137.3 - 91 (W)
The Academy at Stonington Wednesday, Jan. 31 FINAL: 134.2 - 127.35 (W)
The Academy vs. Norwich Free Academy Monday, Feb. 5 FINAL: 140.3 - 129.2
The Academy Eastern Connecticut Conference Championship @ Deary's Gymnastics Wednesday, Feb. 14; FINAL Woodstock Academy 141.7; Stonington 131.85; NFA 130.15; Killingly 92.9
The Academy at Class S state championship at Pomperaug High School Sat., Feb. 24: 1. Centaurs 139.175; 2. Mercy High School 132.8; 3. Oxford 130.05.
The Academy at State Open championship @ Pomperaug High School, Southbury Saturday, March 3: Centaurs finished 2nd; Ali Crescimanno 10th in the All-Around.
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    Roster

Number Name Grade Height Weight
-- Lydia Taft 11
-- Ali Crescimanno 11
-- Madelyn Grube 11
-- Abigail Vaida 11
-- Jenna Davidson 10
-- Elise Boisvert 10
-- Emily Arters 10
-- Grace Gronski 9
-- Stella Douglas 9
  • Team Stats

Player Name Vault (best) Bars (best) Beam (best) Floor (best) All-Around (best)
Elise Boisvert 8.75 8.0 8.45 8.55 33.75
Ali Crescimanno 9.2 9.55 8.2 8.7 35.15
Jenna Davidson -- 8.7 8.8 --
Stella Douglas 7.8 -- 7.0 7.2
Grace Gronski 8.8 8.6 8.5 8.5 34.0
Maddie Grube 9.0 8.5 8.35 8.4 34.3
Abby Vaida 8.2 8.1 8.6 9.0 33.7