New dual meet record for Marlboro gymnasts

BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

PHOTOS BY FARRAH MAFFAI staff Lauren Jack (above) and Jackie Mandelbaum (r) are two of Marlboro’s top performers this year, as the Mustangs look to become the Shore’s top team. A new team scoring record (109.2) has the Marlboro High School gymnastics team re-evaluating its season.

“They started out wanting a lot,” said coach Cathy Pierson. “They now realize that things are possible. A North is a possibility.”

Last year, in finishing fifth in the state, Marlboro finished second in the Shore Conference division to Ocean Township. Entering the 2004 season, the Mustangs had their big scorers back, but they weren’t sure how much they had closed the gap on the Spartans.

When they rolled up 109.2 points in a win over Manalapan on Oct. 6, the highest score in the Shore this year, the Mustangs let the Spartans and everyone else know that they are serious contenders not just for A North, but the Shore Conference Championships coming up on Oct. 30 at Brick Memorial.

After opening the season with a pair of 103s, Pierson said her girls were taking dead aim at the school record 106.3 when they went up against rival Manalapan, traditionally one of the Shore’s top teams.

“We were thinking 107 to break the record,” said Pierson. “After the balance beam I thought the score could be 108.

“Everyone was on,” she added. “There weren’t any falls [off the beam] or wobbles. They deserved the 109. Everyone stepped up. The girls were so excited about it.”

Junior Jackie Mandelbaum, sophomore Lauren Jack and senior Nicole Lallo paced the record by each scoring 36 points in the all-around.

“They’re getting 9s on all of their events,” Pierson pointed out. “They’ve added a little more difficulty and originality to their routines.”

On the vault, for instance, the Mustangs are doing a pike tzukhara, which starts with a 9.8 difficulty, which is an improvement on the 9.6 routines they were doing last year. That added difficulty has helped them consistently put up 9s.

Like any team record, it took more than Mandelbaum, Jack and Lallo to add almost three points to the dual meet record. This Marlboro team is stacked with depth. It doesn’t have to rely on its Big Three alone for scoring.

“You have to be focused, you have to be on and you have to have other people step up,” noted Pierson.

Diana Hartman, a sophomore who missed most of last year, has returned in top form this year and has been a big addition to the team. Another sophomore, Diana Fitzpatrick, is more than capable to go in the all-around.

Senior Randi Glassman, one of the team’s four captains with Lallo, Meryl Abramson and Ali Marquardt, has been putting up high scores on the beam and the floor exercise for the Mustangs.

Although the 109.2 was a very strong statement by the Mustangs, the coach and gymnasts alike know how thin the margin of error is and the talent of the opposition.

“They do realize that there are so many good teams that are very competitive,” said Pierson. “We have the edge now because of our execution.”

Marlboro, now 6-0 in dual meets, took on state power Red Bank Catholic yesterday in a nondivision trimeet in Red Bank that included Monmouth Regional. The A North showdown with Ocean Township is Oct. 22 in Marlboro at 4:30 p.m.

The final warm-up before the Ocean match will be Oct. 20 against Stephanie Novelli-led Howell in Howell.

Other big dates are the Central Jersey Sectionals on Nov. 6 and the NJSIAA Championships on Nov. 13 at sites to be determined.

Last year, the Mustangs qualified for the state finals as a wild card entry following the state sectional. They had their best meet of the season at the state meet and finished fifth.