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02/12/2012 11:00 PMThe Valley Regional gymnastics squad has been the queen of Class S through the past three years and last week the Warriors crowned their lone senior Annie Kingston, who was honored as part of Senior Night festivities with hopes that her team's empire will continue to rule.
The Warriors honored Kingston on Feb. 9 as they took on a familiar foe-but mostly their friends-in the Haddam-Killingworth/Hale-Ray/Old Saybrook co-op team at Shoreline Gymnastics in Old Saybrook. Valley came away with a 129.5-97.5 win over the Cougars, also bettering Old Lyme (91.3) and Windham (72.2) as it begins to prepare itself for another postseason. The Warriors are the three-time defending Class S state champion and know there are mounting expectations to repeat that greatness.
"The kids are realistic; they know we don't have the same caliber of gymnasts we had previously," said Carl Cavrell, who coaches Valley and HK. "However, we have two new freshmen who are very good and are doing very well. I think they are going to do well in states-if they hit and do well, anything can happen. But they don't have the expectation to defend their championship; they just want to do the best they can."
The Warriors' (4-2) final score was another boost to the team as it bettered their average score through six meets of 126.583 and was their second highest total of the season. And while the night was about getting better and positioning for the state meet, it was also just as much about honoring the Warriors' senior Kingston.
"It was good to be recognized individually since it is such a team sport," Kingston said. "Usually, we all work together, but finally, after being the youngest on the team for awhile with all the other seniors we had previously, it is just nice to be in this position."
The Warriors were particularly strong on the vault, totaling a team score of 34. Freshman Julianna Alvord scored a team-high 9.15, followed by freshman Mikayla Connor with an 8.75, junior Maggie Calamari with an 8.6, Kingston with a 7.5, and sophomore Jenna Armenia with a 7.2.
Valley also excelled on the beam with Alvord again leading the way with a 9.05. The youngster was paced by Calamari's 8.5, Connor's 8.35, Kingston's 7.9, and Armenia's 7.1.
"I would say my strongest was probably beam," Kingston said. "I'm coming off a foot injury and so beam puts the least pressure on my foot and I've been practicing it the most. Since my freshman year, that has been my strongest event."
No one from Valley cracked 9.0 on the floor, but once again, Alvord posted the highest score, earning an 8.6. Connor (8.4), Calamari (8.1), Armenia (7.0), and Kingston (6.7) all followed. Floor was the one event in which HK had the upper hand, seeing two of its competitors score nine points or better. However, since the athletes on the two teams are so close, no one on Valley seemed to mind.
"HK is pretty much like our family; all the girls in this gym grew up together," said Kingston. "From 1st grade and on we've all known each other so it is kind of like just cheering on our friends."
The Warriors posted their lowest team score on the bars-a 29.6-with Alvord leading the charge with an 8.5. Connor again followed with a score of 8.1, Calamari scored a 7.0, Armenia earned a 6.0, and Kingston added a 5.0.
"We set a pretty high bar the last few years because all of our seniors were triple threats, but we are doing pretty well this season," Kingston said. "We have some tough competition at states, but we can pull it together with what we've got."
The Warriors have one more meet against HK before the Class S State Championship on Saturday, Feb. 25 at Pomperaug.
"Tonight, from what I saw, in the events I saw, it looked like all the kids did pretty well and hit better than they had in their last couple meets," said Cavrell. "So I was pleased with that."