Sixth and seventh graders Isabella Nelli, Gabriella Torres, Isabella Dulude and their team beat 43 other teams from the state.
Teammates Isabella Nelli, 12, Isabella Dulude, 12, and Gabriella Torres, 12, recently took first place at the state gymnastics championship for the third year in a row. Hosted by Head of Heels in Parlin, the girls and their team beat approximately 43 teams from across the state at the two-day event and qualified for the regional championship in Pittsburgh, Pa., the first weekend in April.
Nelli, a sixth grader at Chestnut Ridge Middle School, has been a gymnast since she was about 2 years old, she said. Dulude, also a sixth-grade student at CRMS, began when she was around 3, stating her favorite discipline is the balance beam.
“I was always running around the house, climbing around on all the furniture and stuff,” Nelli said. “They thought I was going to be a dancer but then I was still, like, grabbing on monkey bars and stuff, so they wanted to put me into something that I could do all four things.”
According to their coach Darlene Blank at Atlantic Coast Gymnastics, in Williamstown, the girls spend approximately 16 to 20 hours per week at practice for about 50 weeks out of the year, a challenge and sacrifice the gymnasts are proud to take on.
“Instead of hanging out on a Friday night, we’re at the gym, or instead of having a sleepover on Saturday, we’re at the gym,” said Torres, a seventh-grade CRMS student. “But, it all pays off in the end.”
According to Blank, to qualify for higher level competitions such as state and regional championships, the gymnasts need to master the four gymnastics disciplines: vault, beam, floor and bars.
At the state championship, Torres placed first on her uneven bar routine with a score of 9.525 and second for her vault performance with a score of 9.35. Torres was the second-place winner for all-around with an average score of 37.175.
Nelli was also the second-place all-around winner at states with an average score of 37.975, winning first on balance beam with a 9.825, which ties the state record. Dulude took second on the balance beam with a high score of 9.475. The team’s overall score at the championship was 114.25.
“Being able to win states is one of the things that pays off the most,” Nelli said. “We won states, but also qualified for regionals, so your hard work pays off because then you get to go to a new meet and meet new people.”
During the first weekend in April, the team attended regional championships in Pittsburgh, Pa. Nelli, with a high score of 9.7, was named the level eight regional floor champion and took second place all-around with an overall score of 38. Nelli also won second place for the balance beam and seventh place for vault. Her teammate Dulude took fourth, and Torres placed fifth for their floor routines, while Torres also won sixth place for uneven bars.
According to Nelli’s father, Domenico, the girls were recently named to their school’s principal’s lists for their achievements in the classroom as well.
“It’s the discipline,” Torres said. “Now, I’m on top of things, I’m on top of my grades and everything. They push us hard, and that relates to everything else, like our education; we’re as disciplined at the gym as we are in school.”
“Sometimes we’re up until midnight, but it’s a sacrifice,” Nelli said. “If you want to do something, you’re going to do whatever it takes.”
After finishing their two largest competitions, the girls look forward to making it to the next level, level nine, where they will master more skills and harder routines. The gymnasts also have their eyes set on college gymnastics, they said, making the sport a lifetime goal.
