Warriors are 2-0 to start the season

THE WAKEFIELD Gymnastics team is 2-0 to start 2018 with their most recent win coming against Burlington on Tuesday.(@WMHS_Warriors Twitter Photo)

Published in the January 18, 2018 edition.

BURLINGTON — The WMHS gymnastics team hit the road for the first time in 2018 as they went to Burlington High School to take on a tough Red Devils team following a big win over Stoneham to start the season. The Warriors proved to the rest of the Middlesex League that they would be a force to be reckoned with this season as they stayed consistent throughout a back-and-forth meet to hang on for a 133.15-131.85 win.

The Warriors and Red Devils each won two events, but Wakefield came through with multiple big performances to win the bars and beam, and although they came up just short in the floor exercise, they came through in the clutch when it counted most to pick up enough points for another league win.

Burlington won the vault 34-32.8 to start the meet. Wakefield’s top four scorers all got an 8.2, including Bridget Noell, Courtney Collins, Ava Licciardi and Elise Rich.

The Warriors stormed back on the bars, winning 31.55-29.85 to take a 64.35-63.85 cumulative lead. Rich went fourth for Wakefield and scored a 7.8. The Warriors then got a great performance from Giana Liotine (8.05) followed by Lola Barrett’s 8.7, which was the best bars score of the meet.

Wakefield kept the pressure on Burlington in the beams, coming up with the three best scores to win the event, 34.2-33.1 to take a 98.55-96.95 lead. Wakefield’s all-around gymnasts, Barrett and Rich each scored an 8.7 while Liotine scored a 9.0. Liotine’s effort in the beams was one of head coach Rachel Lucas’s highlights of the meet.

The other major highlight came from Barrett, who went last on the floor exercise and scored a phenomenal 9.25, which shut the door on the Red Devils and secured the meet win for the Warriors.

Burlington won the floor routine 34.9-34.6 but Wakefield did enough to hold on to their nearly two-point lead coming into the fourth and final event. In addition to Barrett, the Warriors got great performances in the floor exercise from Alana Willis (8.3), Liotine (8.45) and Licciardi (8.6).

In the end, it was a competitive meet that was a great early-season experience for Wakefield, who stepped up to the challenge during high-pressure situations to win a very close matchup.

WMHS will look to keep it going on Tuesday when they travel to Reading at 8 p.m. to take on the Rockets.