H.S. Gymnastics: Ridgewood has another state champion
Friday, November 22, 2013
BY GREG TARTAGLIA
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
The Ridgewood News
MONTGOMERY — Yurina Harada became the third Ridgewood High School gymnast to win a gold medal on the floor exercises at the state individual finals last Saturday.
The junior performed a flawless routine to score a 9.675 and share the championship with Bishop Ahr sophomore Julianna Drapkin. That marked the second time in four seasons that double gold was awarded on the floor.
More importantly for Harada, it put her in the company of Karen McDonnell (1978) and Chelsea Steinberg (2004) as the only Maroons with state floor titles in the 39-year history of the meet. Steinberg also won three straight all-around golds from 2004-06, plus two vault titles (’04, ’06) and one balance beam crown (’04).
Harada was the only Ridgewood girl to qualify for the individual finals this year but had plenty of companionship down in Somerset County. Eight other girls from North Section 1 earned a trip to the meet, and 22 of her Maroon teammates made the hour-plus bus ride to join the capacity crowd inside the Montgomery gym.
“To have that support up in the stands is phenomenal,” RHS head coach Karen Mendez said. “And when Yurina came out and started on floor in such a powerful way, the girls were just psyched for her for the rest of the meet.”
Floor was the first event for the North 1 group, and Harada was the seventh and final gymnast in the rotation to compete. The signature move of her routine all season had been a double-tuck somersault that put her up nearly six feet in the air, but on her first tumbling pass, she opened with a double-pike flip.
Where are Boys Championship teams of yesteryear…. can’t find certified coaches…..?
Congratulations to Ms. Harada. What an amazing accomplishment!