Defeats Arlington after press time, in first meet of the year 133.15-125 (Jan. 5)
COACH DENISE Valdez, now in her 28th season, and Melrose look to earn another winning record this winter. (file photo)
MELROSE—One of Melrose High’s hardest working team returns to their winter season this Friday night as the Melrose High gymnastics teams kicks off their 2024 season this evening against Arlington at the Saugus YMCA for a 7:15 p.m. meet.
Melrose is coming off a 6-3 season in 2023. This year, they have a lot of youth that will add depth to an already experienced roster.
That includes their captains, senior Grace Gentile (returning captain) and juniors Maya Weissman and Abby Dennison.
The three are expected to lead what should be a competitive 12-athlete roster made up of returning athletes Isabella Ferranti, Noah Williamson, Katelyn Plourde and Sumin Kang, and newcomers Ashley Muller, Hillary Bush, Haylee Smith, Aislin Savage and Leila Flank Contin.
Gentile is the team’s sole senior on a team that is primarily made up of underclassmen as young as 8th grade. Youth is welcome in this sport and it bodes well for the future of the program in the coming years.
Now in her 28th season of coaching, Melrose head coach Denise Valdez is getting her team in prime shape before they kick off tonight. “We have 7 returning gymnasts and three seniors in Grace, Abby and Maya,” she says. “These captains each bring something different to the team but collectively they are very supportive of each other and to the underclassman.”
Often in this sport, how the team looks in December is rarely what the team will look like in February and creating a rotation is like piecing together a puzzle.
Notes the coach, “It’s been an interesting start to the season. At this point, the lineup remains open. I can only put 6 gymnasts on each event. We still have some work to do before the first meet. We definitely had a slow start trying to get back into shape. But each practice I’m seeing improvement.”
One thing is for sure they always figure it out and earn wins when the season begins, much like last season when they only fell to ML juggernauts Reading, Wilmington/Bedford and Burlington for an overall great 6-3 meet season.
Notes Valdez, “The Middlesex League is always a tough league. Many of the teams have year round gymnasts.”
Last season, Melrose enjoyed all around work from standout Bella Ferranti, an al-star who advanced to individual postseason last year. Expect her to continue that main role. Gentile, meanwhile, has been a beam and floor starter since freshman year. Expect Noah Williamson to excel strongly in vault and floor and possibly other events, while bars and vault could be a strength for Maya Weissman. Like last season, Kaitlin Plourde could see rotations in beam and floor and Sumin Kang should be a lock for beam and possibly floor. Dennison was a solid vault and bar athlete for Melrose last season and could expand upon that in 2024. Overall, her returners bring experience to the rotations, which will be a great foundation for the team.
With so many new gymnasts, who have a lot of talent with high skill & technical value, there is opportunity for all the athletes to find their niche and become standouts. Starting tonight they will be ready for their debuts. An added bonus is new assistant coach Alicia Valdez, an MHS gymnastic alum, who will help fine tune gymnasts in specific events.
Coach Denise Valdez expects her returning athletes to come back stronger and her new athletes to made great debuts. “I’m hoping we can at least repeat our record from last year but the goal is definitely to improve it. Our goal for the season is to improve each meet and to have fun.”
2024 Season Schedule
Friday, Jan 5 v. Arlington, 7:15
Friday, Jan 19 v. Stoneham, 7:15
Monday, Jan. 22 @ Woburn, 4:30
Friday, Jan. 26 v. Wilmington & Wakefield, 7:15
Friday, Feb. 9 @ Winchester (Woburn) 4:30
