Ellington-Tolland gymnastics team places second in New England
The Ellington-Tolland co-op gymnastics team earned an impressive second place finish at the New England Gymnastics Championship, held in Derry, New Hampshire on March 11.
What makes the feat even more impressive is that the team almost didn’t exist this year.
Each of the two high schools had just three athletes on its team, which would have allowed for their gymnasts to compete in individual events in the CIAC Class M and State Open events, but not as a team. The minimum to qualify as a team is four, and the maximum for a co-op is six.
Both teams are coached by Kali Tyler, and practiced together, so the idea of forming a co-op was a natural fit.
“The girls actually pushed to have the co-op,” Tyler said. “The three girls from Ellington asked for a meeting with the athletic director [Anderson Rawlins], to push for the co-op. It was after the deadline, so we didn’t think it could be done. They really pushed and the CIAC accepted us.”
“Last year we had a lot of girls, but some were injured this year, or had gone off to college,” said Ellington senior Anna Sirois. “This year, we had three from Ellington and that’s not enough to compete as a team. This year, we put in for an emergency co-op, and they let us.”
“The three of us went to our athletic director and said, ‘We want a team for our senior year. Is it possible?'” said Natalie Marshall, also an EHS senior. “Luckily, he was able to make it happen.”
The co-op is essentially a trial basis, and numbers for each school will determine if its necessary or possible next year.
The team won the Class M championship, and then finished second behind Daniel Hand at the State Open, on March 4.
At the New England meet, Ellington-Tolland scored a 141.75, narrowly beating the host school, Pinkerton Academy, which scored a 141.60. Central Catholic High School (Lawrence, Massachusetts) scored a 147.05. Daniel Hand finished fourth with 140.85.
The team’s Charlotte Pacheco also earned second place in beam, and fifth place in bars.
As for why the team is so successful, the coach said they were just blessed with a lot of high-level gymnasts.
“That has just pushed us to do better than we have in past years,” Tyler said.
The gymnasts said they push each other and work as a team.
“The energy of everyone is super important to our success,” Marshall said. “We’re all a perfect balance. We’re super-focused, but we’re also really fun and our energy is great.”
“We’re able to motivate each other, but also stay serious,” Sirois said. “It’s good to bond at practices, and I think that helps our performance.”
At the New England meet, the gymnasts added upgrades to their routines, to make the best impressions. Before the results were announced, they said they were just happy to have taken part.
“You could tell our energy was high. It was a fun atmosphere to compete in,” Marshall said.
“We came into it just trying to have fun, because it’s the last meet of this year,” Sirois said. “When we’re having a good day, we perform better.”
The second place finish came as something of a shock to the team.
“Incredible,” Marshall said. “I don’t think we were expecting that, at all. We knew what our team score was, but when we heard the third place team was lower, we were in shock. It’s definitely a good feeling, though. Especially being a senior, finishing out my experience like that.. oh, my gosh… It’s crazy.”
