RallyNorth.net

Sat, Feb 11, 2017 02:00 PM @ Pinkerton

Team	Total
at Pinkerton	-
Londonderry	-
Pelham	-
Windham	-
Salem	-
Sanborn	-
Timberlane	-

This time, Astros turn tide on Londonderry

DERRY — Pinkerton’s Julianna Corsetto stepped onto the floor knowing she had to nail her routine.

“She’s a number’s girl,” said Astros coach Chelsie Burland. “She knew what was at stake.”

Through three events, the script was playing out just as it did a year prior. Pinkerton entered Saturday’s state championship at its own Hackler Gym an undefeated (28-0) and a clear favorite, but there was Londonderry yet again — putting on its best performance at the most opportune time.

Last year, the Lancers did the definition of just enough, squeaking past their rivals by .05 points (137.80-137.75) to shock the entire Granite State.

Pinkerton used the motivation from that crushing loss to fuel its season, adopting its own version of a “Revenge Tour.”

Yet somehow, after a season of dominance from Pinkerton that saw the team break its school record with a 142.50 in a meet where they beat Londonderry by whopping eight points, it still all came down to the Astros’ final gymnast, Corsetto, in the final event.

But Corsetto, who had missed the entire week of practice with a pulled hamstring, anchored a 9.10 floor routine which put her team ahead for good, and earned her a huge hug from her teammates and coach.

A few moments later, after being laser focused on the floor, Corsetto could not help but break down when her team was handed the state championship trophy after knocking off the Lancers 138.650-137.925.

“This feels so good especially because last year was so heartbreaking,” said Corsetto. “We had to work really hard for this today.

“It was so close heading into the floor, so I knew I had to hit it. So there was a lot of pressure. But when I got off, all of my teammates looked at me and were really pumped. And then when we saw the score we had a feeling that we had won it. It was just so much relief.”

Corsetto finished third in the all-around with a 35.35.

Saturday was a two-team race, with third-place Pelham 10 points behind Londonderry at 127.425 and fourth-place Windham at 126.40.

The victory marked the third championship in four years for Corsetto and the Pinkerton seniors. Since Burland took over seven years ago, the Astros have won five state titles.

“We knew going into floor that we were down .05 of a point,” said Burland. “It was literally deja vu for us, and I was thinking, ‘This can’t be happening again.’

“Poor Julianna Corsetto, last up, she knew that she had to land on her feet and land that routine. And when she landed it we knew. We knew we had just clinched the title.

“This year we came in and it was almost an ongoing joke. We kept saying to each other, ‘A half a tenth, a half a tenth, how did that feel? You don’t want to do that last conditioning exercise? Well, how did that half a tenth feel?’ And that was the motivation for them to give that last rep even if they were exhausted.”

Besides Corsetto’s heroics, the Astros also got a huge boost from freshman Sophia Viger, who was competing in her first all-around of the season. She also recently came back from an ankle injury that had kept her sidelined.

Viger had specialized in the vault and the floor during the regular season, but finished sixth overall in the all-around with a 34.50.

“It was a lot for them to put the trust in me to be able to do it all today,” said Viger. “It was a little more than I expected, but I knew that I had to take it one event at a time to be able to keep myself together.

“My team being so focused this season pushed me to work even harder knowing that I needed to almost gain that redemption for them. I knew that I had to step it up to prove to them that I belong on this team.”

Londonderry’s push for a repeat championship was led by Maddie Croteau, who finished fourth in the all-around with a 35.28. Despite coming up just short, the Lancers still put up their best team score of the season.

Elsewhere around the area, Pelham’s Sara Fisher finished second in the all-around (35.725) and Pinkerton’s Michelle George won the vault with a 9.35.

“It feels great to end on such a good note,” said Corsetto. “I really wanted to come back after last year, which was frustrating. But it made this one better.”

N.H. State Championships

Meet Results (17 teams): 1. Pinkerton 138.650, 2. Londonderry 137.925, 3. Pelham 127.425, 4. Windham 126.400, 5. Bedford 122.825, 6. Hollis-Brookline 122.025, 6. Salem 122.025

Area placers:

Vault: 1. Michelle George (Pink) 9.350, 2. Julianna Corsetto (Pink) 9.175, 3. Maddie Croteau (Lond) 9.050, 4. Cassidy Williams (Lond) 9.025; Bars: 1. Hannah Barton (Con) 8.825, 2. Cameryn Nichols (BG) 8.800, 3. Sara Fisher (Pel) 8.650, 4. Seana Kelly (Lond) 8.525;

Beam: 1. Nichols (BG) 9.425, 2. Mira Kutney (Lond) 9.200, 3. Fisher (Pel) 9.050, 3. Croteau (Lond) 9.050; Floor: 1. Nichols (BG) 9.350, 2. Fisher (Pel) 9.225, 3. Audrey Hill (Pink) 9.175, 4. Corsetto (Pink) 9.100; All-around: 1. Nichols (BG) 36.075, 2. Fisher (Pel) 35.725, 3. Corsetto (Pink) 35.350, 4. Croteau (Lond) 35.275