The Jonathan Law gymnastics team captured the SCC championship title Thursday night, edging out Mercy-Middletown for the crown.
John Vanacore / For Hearst Connecticut Media
MILFORD — Jonathan Law’s performance on the balance beam proved to be the difference at the SCC Championships in the James Richetelli Sr. Gymnasium on Thursday night.
Law defeated Mercy, 126.60 to 126.40, to win the title. Coach Pat Simon’s Lady Lawmen posted a score of 32.30 to the Tigers’ 29.80 to take the crown for the first time since 2007. Mercy was the defending champions. Daniel Hand (123.15) was third followed by Foran (114.650) and Hamden (107.50)
“I was impressed,” Simon said when the score was announced. “Our girls did awesome. On beam we had no falls. They would come back together and say, another great event (as a group). They went out and had a great time. We knew it would be close, we didn’t know how close, so we just went (out) and had fun.”
Mercy coach Monica Bauer said: “We did pretty well. Vault and floor were our strongest events today. They kind of fell apart on beam, and did okay on bars. We had a lot of falls on beam, which put us short. Mia Lawrence had a great meet. She is captain this year. This was a great meet for her to finish MVP on as this is her senior year.”
Lawrence took the all-around (35.00) and was presented with the newly-named Melanie Coleman Most Outstanding Gymnast Award. Coleman, a Law graduate and three-time state champion, passed away in the fall.
“Melanie, I met her freshman year,” said a teary-eyed Lawrence, who was outstanding gymnast for the second consecutive season. “She was an amazing gymnast and I looked up to her since then. I’m honored to win this award, I really am. It means so much to me. She was a great leader for all of us.”
Law’s Catherine Burns was second all-around at 34.00. Emma Nelly from Law and Branford’s Brooke Kustra tied for third (32.80).
“We were expecting a close race, but we didn’t know until the end how it was going to turn out for us,” said Burns, who was first on beam. “We have a lot of girls with a lot of capabilities. Everyone really motivates each other to do their best.”
Nelly said: “We knew that we had a shot. The fact that we did means a lot to me and to this whole team.”
The All-SCC team had solid representation from each team. Law placed Burns, Nelly and Ali Gordon, while Mercy’s Charlene Weaver, Emma Pfau and Ella Bankowski joined Lawrence. Hand’s Carly-Anna Barba, Morgan McMahon, Kayla Castaldo were named, along with Foran’s Ginger Schmidt and Emma Jerue. Branford’s Kustra, Hamden’s Alexis Sangiovanni, Guilford’s Ella Esposito and Amity’s Riley Palozzo tounded out the squad.
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SCC GYMNASTICS
Final Team Results: 1. Jonathan Law, 126.6; 2. Mercy, 126.4; 3. Daniel Hand, 123.15; 4. Foran, 114.65; 5. Hamden, 107.5.
All-Around: 1. Mia Lawrence (Mercy), 35.00; 2. Catherine Burns (Jonathan Law), 34.0; 3. Emma Nelly (Jonathan Law), 32.8; 3. Brooke Kustra (Branford), 32.8; 4. Carly-Ann Barba (Daniel Hand), 32.1; 5. Charlene Weaver (Mercy), 31.45; 6. Ella Esposito (Guilford), 30.6; 7. Alexis Sangiovanni (Hamden), 30.5; 8. Riley Palazzo (Amity Regional), 30.15; 9. Annie Berger (Mercy), 29.55; 10. Ameya Menta (Amity Regional), 29.55; 10. Kayla Cataldo (Daniel Hand), 29.55. Floor: 1. Mia Lawrence (Mercy), 9.2; 2. Carly-Ann Barba (Daniel Hand), 8.6; 3. Emma Nelly (Jonathan Law), 8.4; 4. Morgan McMahan (Daniel Hand), 8.3; 5. Catherine Burns (Jonathan Law), 8.1; 5. Charlene Weaver (Mercy), 8.1; 5. Ella Esposito (Guilford), 8.1; 5. Kayla Cataldo (Daniel Hand), 8.1; 5. Ginger Schmidt (Foran), 8.1; 6. Ella Bankowski (Mercy), 8.0; Beam: 1. Catherine Burns (Jonathan Law), 8.9; 2. Emma Nelly (Jonathan Law), 8.4; 3. Brooke Kustra (Branford), 8.3; 4. Riley Palazzo (Amity Regional), 8.05; 5. Mia Lawrence (Mercy), 7.9; 6. Paige Dean (Daniel Hand), 7.75; Bars: 1. Mia Lawrence (Mercy), 8.7; 2. Brooke Kustra (Branford), 8.3; 3. Catherine Burns (Jonathan Law), 8.0; 4. Emma Nelly (Jonathan Law), 7.7; 5. Charlene Weaver (Mercy), 7.6; 6. Carly-Ann Barba (Daniel Hand), 7.4; 6. Alexis Sangiovanni (Hamden), 7.4; Vault: 1. Mia Lawrence (Mercy), 9.2; 2. Catherine Burns (Jonathan Law), 9.0; 3. Carly-Ann Barba (Daniel Hand), 8.4; 4. Charlene Weaver (Mercy), 8.35; 5. Brooke Kustra (Branford), 8.3; 5. Emma Nelly (Jonathan Law), 8.3; 5. Emma Plau (Mercy), 8.3; 6. Alexis Sangiovanni (Hamden), 8.25; 6. Katie Zimmer (Mercy), 8.25.
