SHREWSBURY — Two-10ths of a point determined the MIAA girls’ gymnastics state championship on Saturday afternoon.
Defending state champion Bridgewater-Raynham/West Bridgewater captured back-to-back state titles after earning a team score of 144.475, less than a point ahead of Mansfield (144.275).
Masconomet/Lynnfield finished third (143.775).
B-R/WB prevailed after starting the day with what coach Stephen Cudworth identified as a dismal first rotation.
“I pulled the girls aside after the first event and I said, ‘You guys are state champions and you need to act like state champions,’ ’’ said Cudworth. “In the next three events they did exactly what I asked them to. I couldn’t be any prouder.’’
Cudworth praised sophomore Olivia Keyes for her second-place all-around performance worth 37.575 points. Keyes earned top-two finishes during B-R/WB’s floor (9.475) and beam (9.550).
“Last week I wasn’t happy with my score,’’ said Keyes, who pulled off a difficult double-pike during her floor routine.
“Hearing my team really pumped me up and allowed me to do that.’’
Keyes finished second to all-around champion Gracy Mowers (38.000) of Masconomet/Lynnfield. Mowers finished in first place in the floor (9.700).
Only 2 points separated Reading, Mansfield, Masconomet/Lynnfield, and B-R/WB atop the composite team standings after the third rotation.
B-R/WB junior Kara Devereaux saw her opportunity to break the stalemate and defend her team’s state title during the fourth rotation.
Devereaux delivered an impressive 9.275 while anchoring the B-R/WB vault.
“I knew I was the last person and that I had to do it,’’ said Devereaux. “It was one of those things where I thought, ‘OK, I got this. Vault’s my thing and it’s the best thing I do.’ ’’
Medway/Holliston/Millis’s Carson Cronin finished first in the individual vault (9.700) and beam (9.600).
Reading finished fourth (142.775), a year after the team missed the state championship meet entirely.
Thanks to their top-three team finishes, Bridgewater-Raynham/West Bridgewater, Mansfield, and Masconomet/Lynnfield all qualified for the New England girls’ championship meet next week at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, N.H.
MIAA Girls’ Gymnastics State Championship
At Shrewsbury High School, Shrewsbury, Mass.
Vault: 1. Carson Cronin, Medway/Holliston/Millis (9.700); 2. Gracy Mowers, Masconomet Lynnfield (9.675); 3. Katerina Poulopoulos, Medfield/Ashland/Dover-Sherborn (9.550)
Bars: 1. Erin Hurley, Mansfield (9.550); 2. Kira Goldman, Mansfield (9.350); 3. Kyra Flak, Masconomet Lynnfield (9.325)
Beam: 1. Carson Cronin, Medway/Holliston/Millis (9.600); 2. Olivia Keyes, Bridgewater-Raynham/West Bridgewater (9.550); 3T. Gracy Mowers, Masconomet Lynnfield (9.500); 3T. Madeline Doyle, Reading (9.500)
Floor: 1. Gracy Mowers, Masconomet Lynnfield (9.700); 2. Olivia Keyes, Bridgewater-Raynham/West Bridgewater (9.475); 3T. Lily Goulding, Mansfield (9.400); 3.T Bryce McDonald, Dracut (9.400)
All-Around: 1. Gracy Mowers, Masconomet Lynnfield (38.000); 2. Olivia Keyes, Bridgewater-Raynham/West Bridgewater (37.575); 3. Carson Cronin, Medway/Holliston/Millis (36.900)
Team: 1. Bridgewater-Raynham/West Bridgewater (144.475); 2. Mansfield (144.275); 3. Masconomet Lynnfield (143.775); 4. Reading (142.775); 5. Medfield/Ashland/Dover-Sherborn (142.025); 6. Medway/Holliston/Millis (137.325); 7. Dracut (136.475); 8. Andover (135.050)
