NORTH READING'S JULIA VALENTI (shown above in the floor exercise) led the way in the co–op gymnastic's tri–meet victory. (John Friberg Photo)

NORTH READING’S JULIA VALENTI (shown above in the floor exercise) led the way in the co–op gymnastic’s tri–meet victory. (John Friberg Photo)

By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI

NORTH READING — It was a good night for the North Reading–Danvers High co-op gymnastics team last Saturday night as they won a home tri–meet at Yellow Jackets in Middleton. The Falcons finished first with a score of 139.15. Masconomet was second at 132.75 while Winthrop came in third at 124.35.

“We were missing two of our gymnasts (Rachel Hill and Sophie Cawlina) because of sickness and injury,” pointed out Falcons head coach Jody Bulger. “I thought we did well even though we didn’t have those two.”

Julia Valenti led the way as the North Reading resident was first in the vault (9.1) and floor exercise (9.25). She was also first in the all-around.

The other Falcon win came on the beam as Jackie Veatch (Danvers) had a score of 9.25. Veatch was second behind Valenti in the all-around as well.

North Reading–Danvers had four second-place finishes. Veatch tied a Masco gymnast for second in the vault with a score of 8.9 and she was alone in second on the floor at 9.1. Valenti and North Reading’s Alyson Kelleher tied for second on the beam at 8.7.

Emily McPherson had the lone third-place finish for the team as the Danvers resident was third on the bars at 8.65.

With the sweep, the Falcons improved to 6-0 overall.

On Friday night, the Falcons host Peabody at 7:30 at Yellow Jackets in Danvers. The biggest meet of the season will be on Saturday night at 6, as they face undefeated Beverly at Yellow Jackets in Middleton.

The Panthers are the defending Northeastern Conference- Cape Ann League champions.

“We haven’t beaten them in a few years,” pointed out Bulger. “It should be a big challenge for us.”