Bayla Goldberg, Hannah Hughes continued to raise the bar
Smithtown's Bayla Goldberg and Middle Country's Hannah Hughes. Credit: Bridget Fetsko; Neil Miller
BAYLA GOLDBERG, Smithtown, uneven bars
A county title with Smithtown in November. A state title in uneven bars in March. All Goldberg does is win.
The junior followed up her 9.625 score in bars at the Suffolk individual championships with a state-best 9.775 at the NYSPHSAA championships on March 1 in Clarence.
“I wasn’t really focused about placing,” Goldberg said after the meet. “I was focused on what I needed to do, and the score would follow.”
But that confidence didn’t come overnight for the Smithtown East standout. Goldberg credits her time on varsity for her ability to handle pressure on New York’s biggest high school stage, gaining confidence with every twist and having fun with every dismount.
“Progress just comes over time,” Goldberg said. “All my hard work led me to this point.”
HANNAH HUGHES, Middle Country, vault
Another year, another gold medal for Hughes.
The Newfield senior and Wisconsin-Oshkosh commit placed first in vault at the state championships in Clarence, becoming the first Long Islander to win three vault titles and only the second New Yorker to do so since 1981.
“When I was coming in, I was like, ‘It’s all right if I’m not the all-around [champion], but I really wanted the vault title,’” Hughes said after the meet.
Middle Country coach Melissa Valentino said she had a dream two nights before the event of Hughes performing the perfect vault. While Hughes technically wasn't perfect, she was closer than more gymnasts get in their athletic careers and only slightly shy of the state record score of 9.9
Hughes came as close to that as she ever did, with her 9.825 shattering her previous vault titles in 2022 (9.7) and 2023 (9.725).
That’s because when Hughes gets involved in gymnastic-related dreams, they often turn to reality.
