The Staples gymnastics team, about halfway through their season, has found success in the FCIAC division with a current record of 4-2. The team most recently competed against Wilton High School, one of their top competitors, and came out with a huge win. 

The team started off their season winning their first three meets consecutively against teams such as Greenwich and St. Joes/Trumbull. They followed those meets with two losses to Warde/Ludlowe and Darien by less than 0.5 points overall and as little as one tenth of a point. However, these losses have only created a stronger drive for the team’s future competition. 

“This just motivates us to keep pushing and focus more going forward,” head coach Kelsey Martin said.

Additionally, these close losses have still facilitated an improvement within the team as their most recent team score, and season high so far, was 138.25, a major increase from their first meet score of 126.75. The gymnast’s success not only comes from their hard work and their physical capabilities, but their spirit and energy on the sidelines. 

“Never will you hear quiet in our gym,” Eliza Walmark ’25 said. “We are always cheering each other on and making sure we are all doing our best to support the whole team, regardless of our individual performance.”

Gymnastics team members collectively share a genuine love for the sport. Captain Ava DeDomenico ’23 expresses what the sport means for her. 

“Since freshman year, it has remained a peaceful escape for me,” DeDomenico said. “When I’m at gymnastics, I am not worried about my school work or any other problems in my daily life. I am simply just doing the sport I love and spending time with the best teammates.” 

One thing that makes the gymnastics team unique to the numerous other sports teams found at Staples is the tight bond the team shares due to its size. 

“Staples gymnastics is special to me because it’s a small team,” Abbie Pleiter ’25 said. “We get very close which I feel is different from some other big teams at Staples.”

Another major difference of gymnastics in comparison to other school sports is that the majority of the team is competing for the school at the same time their club season is occurring. However, the high school team helps to promote the collaborative aspect of the sport instead of each individual’s performance. 

“We go from competing against each other to competing with each other,” Walmark said. 

Looking forward, the end goal is in all the team member’s heads: the FCIAC and state championship. The girls finished fourth in the FCIAC last year.

 Each gymnast is training in a select one or two events to compete, whether it’s floor, bars, beam or vault. All of their dedication will hopefully be showcased in their season finale. 

“We are hoping for a top four finish at FCIACs and States,” Martin said. “We are also hoping three or four girls qualify for State Opens and New Englands.” 

With this goal in mind, the team continues to practice multiple days a week at the Westport-Weston YMCA gym alongside a couple of girls from Norwalk High School who compete with Staples. The team’s skills are constantly improving, and their results have displayed this, despite the team being primarily composed of underclassmen. 

Captain Mia Guster ’23 has been a huge contributor to the team throughout the years, as she consistently places well, particularly with vault. However, all the members of the team and their unique specialties prove crucial in competitive meets. 

“Each and every person has been a major contributor to our team’s success,” DeDomenico said, “as each person has a special skill-set that helps us as a team.”