Lakeland's Marricco wins three Section 1 gymnastics championships
MAHOPAC − Lakeland sophomore Olivia Marricco came into Thursday's Section 1 gymnastics championships looking to wash away the memories of one year ago.
After last year's 'bad' meet, she came into this year's meet looking to improve.
Marricco did improve and won the all-around title for the second time in three years. She scored a 38.4.
"This one means a lot," Marricco said. "I put in the work and I'm happy that I won this year instead of having a bad meet. I improved more than I did."
So what changed in a year? In Marricco's mind, it was more the mental side of the sport that helped her go from fourth place last season back to the Section 1 title.
"I think just focusing more," Marricco said. "Staying confident and having positive thoughts instead of putting myself down helped me in the meet."
Hendrick Hudson sophomore Maggie Johannsen of the combined Somers squad took second and Ossining sophomore Nina Mori of the combined Somers squad finished third.
"Overall, I think the meet went well and I did good tonight," Johannsen said of her all-around performance.
Marricco is the Section 1 champion on the uneven bars (9.775) and the balance beam (9.625). Johannsen was the Section 1 champion on the vault (9.65) and the floor exercise (9.75).
Somers gets the three-peat in the team competition
In sports, trying to go for the third championship isn't easy, especially three in a row. That's what was on the line for Somers.
Somers, which is a combined team made up of Somers, Yorktown, Pawling, John Jay-Cross River, and Hen Hud, won their third straight Section 1 team championship with a 180.35.
"I think we did amazing," Ossining's Nina Mori said. "It was one of our best days. We did great."
The combined Lakeland/Panas/Putnam Valley finished two and a half of points behind Somers in second, scoring a 177.8.
"I think the team did really well," Johannsen said. "I think we had a really good performance. Everyone hit their skills.
Other notable performances
Clarkstown's Bella Alcruz had a strong showing at the championships. She finished second on the balance beam behind Marricco. She was fourth on the floor exercise and fourth in the all-around.
"I was very nervous in the beginning," Alcruz said about the beam. "I'm glad I did well."
When she heard her all-around score of 36.7, Alcruz was a bit taken aback.
"I've been having beam struggles recently," Alcruz said. "So (when I heard the score) I was really happy and pleasantly surprised."
Section 1 names the 2024 state championship team
The 15-member NYSPHSAA championships team has been named and will compete at Clarence High School starting at 10 a.m. on March 2.
All-around
∎ Olivia Marricco, Lakeland
∎ Maggie Johannsen, Hen Hud
∎ Nina Mori, Ossining
Uneven bars
∎Anastasia Iannazzo, Lakeland/Panas/Putnam Valley
∎ Rebecca Smith, Pawling
∎ Bella Alcruz, Clarkstown
Balance beam
∎ Hayley Madden, Panas
∎ Amelia Carozza, Yorktown
∎ Anna Carinci, Mahopac
Floor exercise
∎ Isabella Durso, Tappan Zee
∎ Julia Clarke, Tappan Zee
∎ Abigale Verrechia, Wappingers
Vault
∎Emma Dwyer, Wappingers
∎ Kayla Cambareri, John Jay-Cross River
∎Lexis Castrataro, Mahopac
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Gymnastics: Marricco wins three Section 1 championships
