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Valley Gymnastics Battles Through Injuries to Finish Strong

The Valley gymnastics squad proved yet again that it is a team of perseverance as the Warriors suffered injury early on, but powered through the season to finish 5-2 and fourth in Class S.

Leading the pack was lone senior Maggie Calamari, who put in solid numbers throughout the campaign and proved herself a leader when her teammates needed a pickup midway through the season as the injury bug began to bite. Also contributing was junior Jenna Armenia, sophomores Mikayla Connor (Second Team All-State) and Julianna Alvord (Second Team All-State), and freshman Melanie Lee. Alvord-who boasted some of the season's highest numbers-suffered an injury mid-season and was forced to compete in one event for the remaining meets, including states.

"We placed fourth at states, but we were only half a point out of second with one of our best gymnasts injured," said Coach Carl Cavrell, who was assisted by Monica Bauer. "That says a lot about this team."

-Holly D'Addio