Smithtown gymnastics earns third county title in four years
Smithtown High School celebrates their victory in the Suffolk County Gymnastics Championship on November 5, 2024, at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington Station, NY. Credit: James Messerschmidt/James Messerschmidt
Smithtown fell just three-tenths of a point short of a Suffolk League I gymnastics title this fall, losing its only meet to undefeated Middle Country on Oct. 16.
Last fall, Smithtown barely missed its chance to win a third straight county title, finishing as the runner-up to Middle Country by 0.975 points.
“Since we lost last year and losing [the] league, really, by that close tenth of a point, it really pushed us further,” junior Amanda Burns said. “We knew that we had a very good chance. We had a good team this year. We were getting high scores . . . I think we knew that we could do it if we really just tried, and we supported each other, cheered each other on.”
Finding itself in another tight competition in the Suffolk team championship Tuesday at Walt Whitman High School, Smithtown prevailed. The Bulls posted a season-high 179.575 points to claim their third county title in the last four years. They narrowly outscored second-place Middle Country (178.625).
Burns finished fifth in the all-around (36.675) and junior Bayla Goldberg placed sixth (36.325). Both are three-time team county champs, with Burns in her fourth varsity season and Goldberg in her fifth.
“I’m crying, I’m just so proud of them that they’ve worked so hard all season,” third-year coach Jessica Berroyer said. “Through a lot of illness, injuries and everything, they did not hold them back one second and they kept fighting. Every single kid showed up today and did their very best, and it’s really attributed to the whole entire team.”
Smithtown went 9-1 in the regular season, its lone blemish being October’s 176.475-176.175 loss to Middle Country.
Sophomore Mary Saul, a first-time county champ, placed third on beam (9.500) and fifth on both vault (9.150) and floor (9.375). She was Smithtown’s top scorer in each event.
“I can’t stop smiling,” Saul said. “This is like the best day ever. I’m so excited for everyone.”
Goldberg was Smithtown’s highest scorer on bars, placing second (9.625).
“With the depth that we have, we all just put in all the time that we can in the gym,” Goldberg said. “We just trust our training at this point. We all know what to do, and we’ve done it so many times now.”
Middle Country’s Hannah Hughes, the three-time Newsday Gymnast of the Year, finished first in the all-around (38.550) and first on bars (9.700), vault (9.675) and beam (9.675). Lindenhurst/West Babylon’s Lindsey Kutchens took first on floor (9.525).
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
