GYMNASTICS:
Mansfield girls dethrone Sharon
STOUGHTON
- Mansfield High girls' gymnastics coach Nicole Longo
had a bag full of mixed emotions as her Hornets took
on perennial Hockomock League champion Sharon and
Oliver Ames in a triangular meet Friday night.
On one hand her unbeaten Hornets were on the cusp of
their first-ever outright league title, coming into
the meet with a 9-0 league mark. On the other hand was
her protege from her team at Arnold's Gymnastics
Academy, Sharon's Sami Kaplan.
I
guess you could say things kind of worked out and gave
Longo the best of both worlds - Mansfield took home
the crown despite an outstanding individual effort by
Kaplan.
"I wasn't real happy seeing her on the other
team," noted Longo as Kaplan finished first in
three of the four events and was tops all-around with
a score of 36.9.
But it was the consistency up and down the Hornets'
lineup that forced the Eagles to give up their crown
for the first time in 10 years. Sophomore Michelle
Ivanoski - a teammate of Kaplan's at Arnold's - was
second in every event, and second all-around (36.5),
and freshman Danielle Dousa tied Kaplan for first in
the balance beam and grabbed a third-place finish in
the uneven bars, but it was the contributions of
seniors Casey Burns and Alyssa Ayalla, junior Amy
Sterling and sophomore Ali Neenan that allowed
Mansfield to overcome the Eagles by over five points
and OA by 16.3.
Mansfield tied Sharon for the top spot last year.
The Hornets will now have to defend their dual meet
title at the Hockomock League Championship Meet on
Saturday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. at Arnold's Gymnastics
Academy in Mansfield.
Mansfield 140.75, Sharon 134.9, Oliver Ames 124.45:
Vault 1-Valerie Cohen (OA), 2-Michelle Ivanoski (M),
3-Sami Kaplan (S), 9.2; Uneven bars 1-Kaplan (S),
2-Ivanoski (M), 3-Danielle Dousa (M), 9.3; Balance
beam 1-(tie) Kaplan, Dousa, 2-Ivanoski (M), 3-Cohen
(OA), 9.2; Floor exercise 1-Kaplan (S), 2-Ivanoski
(M), 3-Cohen (OA), 9.5; All-around 1-Kaplan (S) 36.9,
2-Ivanoski (M), 36.5, 3-Cohen (OA) 35.5.
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MANSFIELD
- Turning in the greatest individual and team
performance in the history of the program, Michelle
Ivanoski and the Mansfield High gymnastics team put
away King Philip and moved one step closer to the
Hockomock League dual meet title.
Tuesday 1/19/10 at Arnold's Gymnastics Academy,
Ivanoski, a sophomore, beat or tied three individual
school records and the unbeaten Hornets set a team
record for total points with a dominating 143.75-115.2
victory over the visiting Warriors.
