RIDGEWOOD – Mount Olive and Emerson’s Avery Lauterback 3-peated as NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1 champions Saturday at Ridgewood High School.
The Marauders, ranked No. 3 in the state by NJ.com, secured their third consecutive team sectional title with a 108.825. Ramapo finished as the North 1 runner-up with a 106.725.
Lauterback, competing as an individual, also continued her sectionals success, winning the all-around for the third year in a row with a 37.675. She was followed in the all-around standings by Ramapo’s Sophia DeLorenzo, who finished second with a 36.500, and Mount Olive’s Amy Rubinstein, who finished in third with a 36.050.
Mount Olive’s Meghan Rodas took the vault title with a 9.5. Lauterback took second with a 9.45, and DeLorenzo, and her Ramapo teammate, Alyssa Salerno, finished tied for third with identical 9.375s.
0.075 separated first and third places on the uneven bars with Lauterback taking top honors with a 9.15. Mount Olive’s Natalie Watson placed second with a 9.1 and Ramapo’s Shayna Braver rounded out the top three on the event with a 9.075.
Lauterback also placed first on the balance beam with a 9.525. Rubinstein, and her fellow Marauder gymnast, Avery Schroeder, claimed second and third on the event. Schroeder finished in second place with a 9.4, and Rubinstein finished in third with a 9.25.
The floor exercise crown went to Summit’s Charlotte Lemkau, who finished in the top spot with a 9.6. Lauterback and Rubinstein rounded out the top three with a 9.55, and 9.4, respectively.
Rounding out the team standings, Summit finished in third with a 104.300, Randolph finished in fourth with a 103.475, Ridge finished in fifth with a 102.950, Pascack finished in sixth with a 102.100, Montclair finished in seventh with a 101.350, and Roxbury finished in eighth with a 99.625.
The high school gymnastics season concludes with the team state championship on Thursday and the individual state championship on Saturday at Brick Memorial High School. Each sectional team champion will automatically advance to the state championship along with the next four highest scoring teams in all four sectionals combined.
