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North Andover placed fifth in the Girls All State Gymnastics meet. The Scarlet Knights were led by Michelle Hall, who finished eighth overall with a 35.975 and Meghan Buttress rounded out the top-10 with a 35.425

Meghan Buttress paced first in the vault (9.50) and fifth in the all-around (36.25), helping North Andover to a second place finish at the Division 1 North meet, at Hudson High School.

SALEM, N.H. — New Hampshire could be looking at its third straight three-peat champion.
Pinkerton, led by Olivia Bogaczyk and Courtney Thompson, who went 1-2 in the all-around, rolled to the New Hampshire State Meet gymnastics title yesterday. Bogaczyk is a freshman and Thompson a sophomore, so the Astros will be tough to beat for at least the next two years.
The top-seeded Astros, who went 25-1 in the regular season, dethroned three-time defending champion Salem, which settled for fourth place. Prior to Salem’s run, the Astros had won three straight.
“It was awesome, so awesome,’’ said Pinkerton’s fourth-year coach Gina Kegler, after winning her first title.
The Astros had the highest score in every event: vault 33.525, bars 34.425, beam 35.55 and floor 35.475 to easily outscore runner-up Manchester Central, 138.975-132.1.
Bogaczyk, 14, has a built-in advantage. Her father, Matt, owns Granite State Gymnastics in Bow.
“I almost didn’t do high school gymnastics,’’ she said. “I saw the girls had so much fun and I wanted to be part of it. I didn’t even know they had individual placers.’’
Now the Derry resident knows. She won the all-around (36.05), bars (9.375) and beam (9.15).
Bogaczyk got off to a slow start with a subpar effort in the vault.
“That put more pressure on,’’ admitted Bogaczyk, who rebounded like a champion.
The sport has been a perfect fit for her since her preschool days.
“When I was 5, I broke me leg,’’ said Bogaczyk. “The doctor said it was good for leg strength.’’
Thompson was especially pleased because she had missed much of the season.
“I’m just back from a bad ankle sprain,’’ she noted.
When asked about a potential dynasty, the Chester resident said, “Definitely. Yeah, I’d say so.’’
Thompson may have set the world record for the earliest start in a sport.
“I started when I was 1,’’ she said. “It was Mommy and Me at Spectrum (Gymnastics in Londonderry)’’
Thompson brings a fearless attitude to gymnastics and another passion of hers, horseback riding.
She has two horses: Violet and Joy.
“I’ve won a lot of state (equestrian) things,’’ she said.
Thompson trains at Brestyans in Burlington, Mass., where Olympian Alicia Sacramone trains. But she’s committed to high school gymnastics, too.
“I’ll always be an Astro,’’ she said.
Same with Kegler. She teaches pyschology at the school and graduated from there in 1999. But she didn’t compete on the gymnastics team. That made yesterday’s title even more special.
“We really hit on bars more than we have all season,’’ she said. “That gave us momentum and typically it’s our weakest event.”
Yesterday they were all strong. That might be the case for the next few years as well.
Other local placers were Londonderry’s Leah Jackson, who was tied for fourth on vault; Pinkerton’s Alex Halle and Salem’s Samantha Cloutier, who placed fifth and sixth, respectively, on the beam; and Salem’s Shireen Kirata, who tied for fourth on floor and finished eighth in the all-around.

In the last meet before the state championships, Shireen Kirata won every event as Salem swept past Nashua North, Dover and Nashua South. Kirata finished a solid evening of competition with an all-around score of 34.6.

Andover may have been hit by injuries this season, but the Golden Warriors still led the way at the Merrimack Valley Conference championship last night.

Led by a stellar performances by Rachel Mattison and Jenny Coneeny in the all-around, the Golden Warriors placed second overall with a 139.45, trailing just Chelmsford (143.7). Methuen finished a close third (138.5).

Londonderry shaded Pinkerton, 130.95-129.85, in a pivotal Ball Family Trophy matchup. Pinkerton's Olivia Bogaczyk and Lanaya Shackelford went 1-2 in the all-around but the Lancers won it with their depth as Leah Jackson, Emily Page, Taylor Hicks and Miranda Marchetti all starred.

Katie Oskar set a career best of 36.3 in the all-around and Oskar, Courtney Bradley and Julia Eliopoulos went 1-2-3 in the bars as Methuen downed Lowell 135.75-129.95.

Courtney Smith scored a personal-best 9.3 in the floor exercise, winning the event as part of Central Catholic's 138.5-127.3 victory over Dracut. Smith placed second in the all-around (34.45) to teammate Shilanna Gallo (36.3).

Central Catholic alum Kristen Vadala came very close to beating her mentors but Andover fell just shy in a 141.1-140.95 decision. Raider Shilanna Gallo edged Warrior Rachel Mattison in winning every event, taking all-around honors by one-half of a point.

Thanks to freshman Olivia Bogaczyk, the Pinkerton gymnastics team continues to roll even with standout Courtney Thompson on the sidelines with an injry. Bogaczyk won two events (with a PR score of 9.3 in the beam) and was the all-around winner as the Astros (17-0) defeated Salem and Pelham 130.25-124.35-105.20. Salem's Shireen Kirata was first in the vault and second in all-around.

Meghan Buttress set the school record in the vault with a 9.55, leading North Andover to a 141.85-138.5 win over Beverly. She held the previous mark along with Heather Moulton.

Central's Shilanna Gallo broke her previous school record of 9.4 on the vault, spinning a sizzling 9.45 and leading the Raiders to a 134.95-117.4 girls gymnastics win over Tewksbury. Teammate Mackenzie Arndt won the bars (8.5) and the beam (8.8).

Michelle Hall won the beam and took seconds in the vault, bars and all-around as North Andover edged Winthrop 140.95-139.5. Meghan Buttress (vault) and Kayla Cromidas (floor) each added a win for the Scarlet Knights.

Courtney Smith won the vault and all-around to lift Central Catholic past Methuen, 137.7-135.95.

Winning or sharing first place in every event, three of which had a score of 8.8, Pinkerton's Olivia Bogaczyk was tops in a five-team meet at Salem. Winning the all-around with 34.85 points, Bogaczyk helped keep the Astros unbeaten at 11-0.