The following preview of the Girls Gymnastics team was written before competition started. At publication time, the team’s record is 4-0, with their next meet on Wednesday 1/29 vs. Arlington at Reading Gymnastics Academy.
RMHS winter sports teams started up during tryout week, and that included the gymnastics team, who are ready to begin their season with many strong returners and promising newcomers.
The eleven time Middlesex League Champions are led by three senior captains; Khalen DePalma, Solana Maldonado, and Kelsey Conant. They are coached by Zach Stein and Jill Stira and have enjoyed great success under their coaching in past years. For the upcoming season, the team is looking to keep their title and create a welcoming environment for the five incoming freshmen. Maldonado believes that these freshmen will make a real impact on the team, especially after the loss of last year’s seniors Ashlyn Spezzaferro, Katherine Johnson, and Nicole Torello.
“We’re gaining a lot of good freshmen, and hopefully the gain proves to be greater than the loss,” said Maldonado. The freshmen gymnasts include Ella Kenton, Morgan Conant, Ella DePalma, Rio Kajita, and Addie McGonagle. Maldonado is especially optimistic about Kenton’s skills. “She’s one of our biggest prospects, but she had a surgical procedure early in the fall and has been out of the gym recovering, so we hope she will be able to bounce back quickly for the high school season,” stated Maldonado.
Making this team feel even more like a family are the three pairs of siblings that are now on the team. The sister duos include Khalen and Ella DePalma, Kelsey and Morgan Conant, and Hannah (‘26) and Ella Kenton. Though the team is already very close knit, these duos should serve to enhance the team’s bond, while also possibly creating some tension as the sisters try to outcompete one another. Though Maldonado does not have a sibling of her own on the team, she has an idea of what the dynamic might look like. “I think with sisters, there will be some rivalry for spots in events at meets. But in the end, we all know each other well and want to achieve the same goals, so this will form close bonds,” stated Maldonado.
This year, both Conant sisters have competed on the same club gymnastics team, Xcel Diamond. However, for the other two pairs of sisters, this will be the first time they are on the same team. DePalma is especially excited to be on the same team as her sister Ella. “I can’t wait to compete with my sister on the high school team,” expressed DePalma. On the other hand, Conant stated “Morgan and I sort of already have a feel for it. There is definitely going to be a very prominent sisterly dynamic because we are both strong on the same events and this will cause some competition between us.”
Junior gymnast, Hannah Kenton, will be facing off against her sister, Ella, likely for an all around candidate spot. Kenton has had prior interactions with some of the siblings throughout their gymnastic careers; however, this time it’s completely different. “It’s definitely our first time as a big group of sister duos, and it’s a little weird seeing my sister at my high school gymnastics when I’ve had two years on the team without her. But it’s definitely going to be fun for my parents to watch both of us compete together.”
Time will tell how these sisterly bonds impact the atmosphere in the gym, but some healthy competition is something that will definitely be in the team’s future. One thing for sure is that senior captains DePalma and Conant plan to make it clear to their siblings that just because their older sister is a captain, that doesn’t mean they get any special privileges. All of the athletes must earn their place on the team and spots for events.
Competing at their full potential and gaining new skills in practice will be important for all the RMHS gymnasts since there are a limited number of gymnasts allowed to compete per event. In high school gymnastics, there are four events: beam, floor, vault, and bars. There are six athletes per event, and each team is permitted either one or two all-around gymnasts, but no more. The lineup for athletes competing in each event this year is currently undecided and can change from meet to meet; however, potential all-around candidates are Ella Kenton, Khalen DePalma, Solana Maldonado and Hannah Kenton.
The depth of skill on the team this year will be an essential factor in helping the RMHS gymnastics program win their league, continue on to sectionals, and hopefully making it to states in the spring. Sectionals are the competition where the top three teams from each league face off against each other in order to qualify for states. Eight teams compete at the MA state competition; the top four from the North sectional competition and the top four from the South sectional competition.
Looking to upset RMHS’s pursuit of another league title will be two separate teams from towns known to have good athletic programs all around. Conant stated “Based on prior years, I think our biggest rival this season could be Winchester since they always have a strong team. But Woburn will be a team to look out for as well.”
RMHS gymnastics should be a league favorite heading into the season and looking well past the regular season given their recent accomplishments. Conant explained, “The past three years, I’ve been on the high school team and we’ve been undefeated Middlesex League Champions, and we’ve made it to sectionals all three of those times.” As freshmen, Conant, DePalma, and Maldonado were part of the squad that qualified for states, falling just short of qualifying for states the following two years. With one last shot this year, Conant shared “I’m excited to see what happens. Maybe we’ll come full circle.”
