Conard Gymnasts Vault over Southington

For as long as anyone can remember, gymnastics team has lost to Southington.

Even during the past two seasons, when Conard has fielded a team of seasoned high-level gymnasts with club experience, a victory over Southington remained elusive.

That all changed Thursday night in front of a vocal home crowd at , when Conard's athletes vaulted, tumbled, and flipped in their best meet of this season, topping Southington, 137.95-135.1.

Head coach Laurie Scinto cried tears of joy, and was proud of the team's outstanding performance and positive attitude.

Conard's gymnasts earned top scores of the meet on Bars (freshman Jackie Palermo, 9.2), Beam (junior Katie Newton, 8.5), and Floor (Palermo, 9.4). Southington sophomore Kayla Nati had the meet's high score on Vault with a 9.1, just ahead of Palermo who earned 9.0. Conard senior Ellen Bridgman, and juniors Shannon Bouvier, Taylor Hadra, and Amanda Sloan, also had outstanding performances.

After three meets, Conard's team average for the season is 136.1, putting the team in 4th place.

The Chieftains next face reigning state champion Glastonbury on Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. at Gymnastics Express II in Glastonbury.