Huntington Girls’ Gymnasts Excel

Huntington High School’s five girls’ gymnasts excelled on the Blue Devils combination team with host Harborfields. Eighth grader Grace Bartasi and junior Valerie Ferreira reached the Section XI individual championships.

The Harborfields/Huntington team compiled a 5-1 league record and went 7-3 overall. The combined team’s long league loss came by less than one point to undefeated league champ William Floyd.

The Huntington squad also included Blue Devil eighth grader Olivia Koiyet, junior Elizabeth James and senior Kaitlyn Sansiviero. The rest of the team was comprised of gymnasts from Harborfields.

This marked the second year the two districts are collaborating in the sport of girls’ gymnastics. Practices and home meets are held at Harborfields in a gym dedicated to gymnastics.

Huntington health teacher Jacqueline Lazzarini coached the Blue Devil contingent. “We had an amazing team and a great second year,” the coach said. “Huntington and Harborfields mixed very well together. The girls get along great and make practice fun and an enjoyable environment to be in.”

Bartasi was Huntington’s top all-around gymnast based on scores. James had high schools on balance beam and floor exercise; Sansiviero also notched high scores in floor exercise; Ferreira excelled in floor exercises and uneven bars.

“Grace Bartasi is a young and powerful athlete who shows great strength and compassion for others,” Lazzarini said. “Grace is a high-achieving athlete who accomplishes her goals and gets through any challenge she may be facing. It is my pleasure to watch her grow as a student and an athlete and I cannot wait to see her improved skills for next year.”

In her first year with the team, Ferreira also made a strong impression. “Val is an incredibly dedicated and committed student-athlete who is hardworking and very supportive of her teammates,” Lazzarini said. “Val showed great strength both mentally and physically this year as she conquered her goals on a new gymnastics team with new coaches in a new environment. She made it to the individual counties in her first year on the team this season and I expect she will do the same next year as a senior.”

James and Sansiviero continued to excel for the Blue Devils. Lazzarini is sorry to be losing Sansiviero to graduation. She will be heading off to Michigan State University. But the coach expect James to be better than ever next year. Koiyet is also well on her way to working herself into a fine gymnast.

But, make no mistake, Bartasi is Huntington’s star. “Grace is our top all-around gymnast,” Lazzarini said. “Grace works incredibly hard at practice as well as at her outside practice at Gold Medal. She is an outstanding performer and competitor. Grace can be very hard on herself, but she has proven this year that she’s okay with falling and messing up sometimes as long as she never stops trying. She knows she has four more years on this team and she has many more chances to achieve her goals and progress with us.”