Hunterdon Central High School - Echo Yearbook (Flemington, NJ)

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Boys' Gymnastics Back Row: Kirby Fowler. Lee Mack. Henry Wilfong. John LoRicco. Greg Novak, Jeff Fabijanic. .loc Sheppard. Brett Corcoran: Middle Row: Kevin O'Connor. John Maurer. Ed luliano, Keith Hall. Bill Rchl. Mike Scfko. Tony Malbag Front Row: Bob Nichols. Matt Pfenninger. Ben Rovee Boy's gymnastics team places third in States by Kirby Fowler Under the enthusiastic leadership of captains Matt Pfenninger, Ben Rovee, and Bob Nichols, the 1981 boys' gymnastics team demonstrat- ed its continual effort, determina- tion, and skill by advancing to third place in the State Team Champion- ships. To get there, the team traveled a road which was long and hard, par- tially due to the fact that the team was young, composed solely of freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. Disregarding this, the group was prepared to confront any opponent it encountered. As a result, the gym- nasts completed the season with a commendable record of 5 wins and 4 losses. The season began with an unprec- edented event in the history of the Hunterdon Central gymnastics team - the first annual Devils, Classic, which was held in the Field- house. The team fared well, placing seventh with a score of 88.7. Ac- cording to various articles written at that time, Coach Fick believed the 162 athletes had potential and expected an exciting year. . Coach Fick's belief was con- firmed when the team began to ac- cumulate scores which averaged near the 100 point mark. In the past five years, no gymnastics team at Central had ever performed as well. The season heightened when the group attained a score of 114.9 against Montclair. The team began to contemplate its chances against Haddon Township at the time. Al- though Central did not break Had- don's undefeated streak, they did lead at the end of the first four events. Morale was not dampened as the team prepared its qualifiers for the NJSIAA Individual Section- als. Those who were anxiously await- ing competition in the Sectionals were Bob Nichols, Matt Pfenninger, Ben Rovee, Lee Mack, and Henry Wilfong. By the conclusion of the meet, Pfenninger had captured first on the long horse, fourth on floor exercise, fifth on parallel bars and high bar, and ultimately, fifth all around. Rovee also displayed his talents by placing fourth on the st rings. Both participants advanced the finals, with Rovee placing thi among the top still ring performe in the state. The traditional climax of the se son was the State Team Champio ships, an event held annually in tl Fieldhouse. The gymnasts grew ne vous as the meet progressed, pi marily because it appeared that tl Devils would have to compe against Sayreville, Haddon Tow ship, and Columbia for one of tl top three positions. As previous mentioned, Central successful claimed third, Haddon second, ar Sayreville first. Next year, the boys' gymnasti team anticipates even better result especially since this year's groi will all be returning next Septen ber. The returnees will hopefully i clude the seven lettermen -4 Ma Pfenninger, Ben Rovee, Bob N chols, Lee Mack, Henry Wilfon Joe Sheppard, and Kirby Fowle and the remainder of the optimist 1981 boys' gymnastics team.

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Girls' Gymnastics Huuitanmi Girls, gymnastics team has outstanding season by Dawn Bridenbaugh The girls, varsity gymnastics team achieved a superb record of ll-2, undoubtedly the best season the team has ever had. Gymnastics requires great strength, muscle con- trol, and the ability to make routines look graceful and natural. To achieve this, the girls had to require of themselves extreme dedication. The Devils were guided by Coach Jennifer Spieker who reached a milestone in gymnastics coaching this year with 100 career wins. The team was also guided by the leader- ship and dedication of captain Wen- dy Wilfong and seniors Dianne Maddalena and Donna Sanborn. This season was captain Wendy Wilfongls most outstanding. Wendy went as an all-around in the first meet and competed in all three meets thereafter. It was Wendy's first year com- peting beam - her showing was un- real, commented Coach Spieker. Wendy's extremely dedicated. She not only motivated the team, but me. Senior Dianne Maddalena, a beam specialist, scored her personal highest this year of 8.6. She also contributed to the record breaking team score for beam. 164 Dianne was the organizer of all the equipment and was always there when you needed herf' stated Spieker. Donna Sanborn, who competed in both bars and vault, unfortunately was plagued by injuries this year. Donna scored personal bests on both bars 18.83 and vault 18.755 this year. Donna really pushed the kids - f especially on the bars - and she held her own on vault. commented Spieker. During the course of the season, the Devils broke an unbelievable nine records and scored the highest ever in the Sectionals and States f5th and 7th respectivelyj. In a dual meet against Columbia, the girls broke three of the nine records. They scored the highest team score ever achieved by the Devils, break- ing the highly coveted 100 point mark, scoring l0l.7. They also achieved the highest score on the bars and floor exercise. Many individuals have left their mark by attaining new records. One such person is sophomore Sherry Pettit who broke two records this year. Sherry broke the vaulting re- cord twice ---- first by scoring a 9.0 and then setting the new record at 9.35. Sherry also set a new all- around record of 34.0. Other record breakers this year were Ellen Denbigh, who set a re- cord on floor exercise by scoring a 9.3, and Tracy Stiel, who broke the uneven bar record of 8.9 in the first meet with a 8.95. The girls' first opponent was Hackettstown. The Devils defeated them easily 195.7-73.95, showing that they were a team to be contend- ed with. With one victory behind them, they eagerly awaited their next opponent, Montgomery, who also fell to the Devil power. Unfortunately, their scoring streak was stopped by a strong Buck Team, they lost 96.65-93.8. Like all good teams, however, they overcame the agony of de- feat and readied themselves for their next opponent --a Columbia. At this meet, the girls showed that dedication and concentration pay off by breaking three team records. The highlight of the evening was breaking the 100 point mark. Keeping up the winning spirit, they met their next four opponents with confidence and defeated them all. However, their second and last loss ofthe season loomed ahead. On October 27, the team traveled to Bridgewater East, where they would face both Bridgewater East and Franklin Township. The tough