Melrose (4-2) beats Burlington for 4th in a row
Published January 31, 2020
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose High gymnastics team continued their winning streak by picking up their fourth straight win over Burlington and improving to 4-2 on the season as they prepare for their last regular meet of the season before the Middlesex League meet on Feb. 10.
Melrose senior captains Katie Wright and Ciara Smith enjoyed all-around duties and helped Melrose sweep the Red Devils in every event. The Red Raiders saw their best event on the floor where they collected a point total of 35.35 behind the efforts of top scorers Katie Wright, Grace Burke, Lucy Hannon and Gabrielle Prodgers. Wright’s strong performance earned an event-high score of 9.3.
Burlington was more competitive in the vault, but thanks to strong Melrose scores from Ciara Smith and Katie Wright, the team edged the Red Devils 33.35-31.9 in the event. Melrose also showed strength in the bars with top scores from Sophia Weissman (8.6) and Katie Wright (8.8) which made all the difference.
Melrose followed that victory up with a road win over Burlington on Tuesday, Jan. 28 by a score of 135-129. Melrose had excellent performances in the floor and vault to stay well ahead of the Red Devils. Melrose’s floor was well represented by Taylor Pesce, Gabrielle Prodgers, Lucy Hannon (8.8), Grace Burke, Ciara Smith (8.9) and Katie Wright (9.2). Winchester only took one event—beam—but Melrose made up for it in the vault with very strong efforts by Sofia Pitcher (8.45) Grace Burke (8.45) Ciara Smith (8.4) and an event-high score from Katie Wright (9.05).
This Friday, Melrose will host Woburn for their final regular season meet of the year. The night also will mark Senior Night and the fun will begin at 8:00 p.m. at the Metro North YMCA in Saugus.