Crasa, Ward Melville vault to League I
Ward Melville's Cydney Crasa performs on the balance beam in the Suffolk high school girls gymnastics individual championships. (Nov. 12, 2010) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
She's a tiny thing -- less than 5 feet tall. But Cydney Crasa, a ball of precisely honed energy in green and black, knows how to make people take note.
In a little more than a year on varsity, the Ward Melville eighth-grader, daughter to coach Caryl Crasa, helped lead her gymnastics team to an undefeated Suffolk League II season while coming in second in the state tournament. Crasa, who returns as a level-10 all-around, was made for prime time and, this year, so is Ward Melville.
The Patriots make the ascent to a heavily reshuffled League I behind Crasa, juniors Alison LaRocca and Eugenia Zhukovsky and a mature crew of nine seniors. Despite their status as newcomers, Ward Melville is one of the favorites in a league that finds itself in flux after the defending county champion Commack, which lost a number of its top scorers to graduation, was moved to League II.
Sachem returns three all-county girls, including Kira Jarrar, who took honors in three events last year, and sophomore Samantha DiRosa. The Flaming Arrows have a large team -- 24 gymnasts -- and plan to use those numbers to rack up high point totals in individual events instead of putting most of the pressure on a handful of all-arounds.
Half Hollow Hills, too, is expected to make a good showing behind a pared-down team, a new coach and standouts Samantha Fondacaro, a sophomore all-around, and senior captain Nikki Maddie.
Despite being in something of a rebuilding year, it's never a good idea to sleep on Kings Park. Last year's regular-season champions are young and have no club gymnasts, but show distinct promise in the person of Skylar Hass, an eighth-grader, and senior Marissa Moss. Kings Park excels in vault and beam and will likely get stronger as the season progresses. Babylon, too, stays in the mix.
Bay Shore and Smithtown, meanwhile, will have to shoulder big losses in Olivia O'Connor (Bay Shore), who decided not to compete this season after years at the highest echelon of Suffolk gymnastics, and Sarah Peters (Smithtown), who had offseason ankle surgery.
In CHSAA, look for Kellenberg to continue to be a force, as it goes for its sixth straight Catholic league title. After breaking a vertebrae in the offseason, a determined Gabriella LoMacchio returns intent on putting together a strong senior campaign. She's joined by her sister, Kirsten, a freshman on a team of seven seniors. St. Francis Prep and St. John the Baptist are also expected to make strong showings.
