CN Gymnastics: Watchung Hills ready to pick up where it left off

The Watchung Hills Regional High School gymnastics team is ready to pick up right where it left off last season. 

The Warriors captured their first Skyland Conference Tournament title last year, edging two-time champion Hillsborough by less than one point. Earlier in the season, Watchung Hills placed second to Hillsborough in the Somerset County Tournament, 109.6-108.875. 

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Watchung Hills then placed second in the North Section 2 Tournament, coming in behind Bishop Ahr 111.125-110.275. At the NJSIAA Team Championships, the Warriors took fifth with a score of 108.925. 

With all of the success it experienced last year, Watchung Hills is determined to take it even further this season, and head coach Kyla Garcia is confident her team can do it. Especially since every single gymnast from last year is returning. 

"This is the first year we didn’t have any graduated seniors. We had a young team last year. We have four seniors, and they really are the heart of the team," Garcia said. "We did win the Skyland Conference, we came in second in the counties, and we’re looking to take that title away. We’re hungry this year. It’s all going to come down to consistency."

More good news for the Warriors is that senior Alexis Tekin returns. Last season she earned the all-around title at both the Skyland Conference and Somerset County tournaments, and won on the uneven bars and took third in the all-around at the North Section 2 Tournament. 

"It’s actually a really good thing," Tekin said of last year's team returning. "We have some incoming freshmen to add, and we’re really excited, we get to pick up where we left off last year. Our team didn’t take too much of a hit. 

"We’re looking really good, I think because we didn’t lose any seniors, and we’re just adding on to what we had last year, and working on perfecting and cleaning up our routines."

Jenna Ramunno, Morgan Durant and Lauren Cardone are the other three seniors returning, and Garcia is thrilled with the level of experience they bring to the team. 

"They are not only just amazing gymnasts, but they are role models to look up to," Garcia said. "There’s such leadership in all four of them and they all care about each other and check on each other and the communication between them is great. Our underclassmen, they’re coming into a family."

Junior Taylor Hardy joins the team as a transfer, and Garcia is confident that freshman Brenna Anastario also will be a big contributor. 

Rebecca Brady will be taking one of the top five spots, and according to Garcia, "she’s another one who shows a lot of consistency and power, she’s going to surprise some people."

With the talent that Watcung Hills will boast this season, the Warriors also know it's going to take a lot of hard work in order to repeat the success of last year. The team knows there will be a target on their backs, but they're ready to do whatever it takes to win. 

"It’s a lot more pressure because we have a title we want to keep," Tekin said. "I think we have the experience that we had last year, and after winning we can show the underclassmen and guide them and show them we’re a force to be reckoned with and we can go back and win and we have the capabilities to do that."

Staff Writer Lauren Knego: lknego@gannettnj.com; on Twitter: @laurenknego