West Babylon gymnast Leah Kutchens is Newsday's Athlete of the Week

Leah Kutchens of West Babylon competes in the floor exercise... — Leah Kutchens of West Babylon competes in the floor exercise event at the Suffolk girls gymnastics individual championships and state qualifier on Nov. 6, 2026, in West Islip. Credit: Peter Frutkoff

By Matt Lindsaymatt.lindsay@newsday.com @mattlinds19Updated November 11, 2026 5:31 pm

Leah Kutchens was there for the rebirth of gymnastics at West Babylon. Last week, she brought gold back to her school.

The senior, who competes for the combined Lindenhurst/West Babylon team, won the all-around competition at the Suffolk individual gymnastics championships at West Islip on Friday with a score of 36.225. She placed second on bars (8.95), third on floor (9.35), sixth on beam (8.975) and seventh on vault (8.95).

Kutchens placed third in the all-around last year with a 36.575. She is Newsday’s Athlete of the Week.

“There were so many emotions,” Kutchens said. “I started crying. I was excited for my family to see me because my parents were watching me. I’m the last kid in my family to graduate and I just wanted to have a good meet for the last one.”

The Kutchens family has been the backbone of West Babylon gymnastics for the last four years. Kutchens was a freshman on West Babylon’s 2023 team, which marked its first varsity gymnastics team since 2018. She was one of six girls on that team and was joined by her sisters, Lauren and Lindsey, who graduated in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Both of her sisters were highly accomplished gymnasts, but Kutchens is the first in her family to win an all-around Suffolk title. Lindsey took second in the all-around as a senior in 2024.

“Since we restarted the program, they’ve been the staple of our team,” said Bob Panariello, West Babylon’s athletic director. “Leah is the youngest of the three Kutchens that came through and there’s always an expectation to match or exceed what your older sisters did. As of now, she’s exceeded that. Our whole school district is extremely proud of her.”

And behind the Kutchens is a strong support system in parents, Daren and Margaret.

“They go to every single one of my meets and they cheer me on,” Kutchens said. “It just means a lot to me because I know I’ll always have people supporting me through everything, even if it doesn’t go well. They’ll always be there and be happy for me no matter what happens.”

Kutchens is uncommitted but hopes to compete in club gymnastics and major in business or accounting in college. She sports a 107.76 weighted GPA while taking five AP classes and participating in student government and the National and Math Honor Societies.

But the girl who started in gymnastics at the age of 3 still has the state championship meet to compete in before her high school career is over. On Feb. 27 at Cold Spring Harbor, Kutchens will look improve on her 14th-place finish in the all-around of last year’s state meet.

“I’m really excited to go back to states because I get to be on a team with a bunch of really amazing girls from all different schools,” Kutchens said. “I just want to do better than last year and try to win an event.”