Oceanside impresses with youth

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Youth is sweeping the Nassau County High School gymnastics scene this season and Oceanside is no exception with one senior and no juniors on its roster.

“It’s the youngest and smallest team, in terms of numbers, that I’ve coached,” said Lady Sailors coach Andy Morris, whose 35th season at the helm began with a narrow half-point defeat against Bethpage. “The fact that we’re fighting for the seventh or eighth spot in the county with such a young team is exciting,” he added. “We’re good, and we’re not far off from being very good.”

Oceanside, which went 6-4 last season in dual meets and placed sixth in Nassau, split its first six meets so far while averaging roughly 152 points. As long as it maintains its pace, the team will qualify for the county championships (top eight) for the 34th time in Morris’ 35 years as coach. “No other program has had that kind of streak, so hopefully we can keep it going,” he said.

The Lady Sailors graduated two all-around contributors from last winter but are rolling out five nowadays with sophomore Lexi Kessler leading the group. Kessler earned All-American status on floor exercise as a freshman and also competed in the state meet on vault after finishing second in the county in the event. She was fourth in the county in the all-around. “Her goal is to qualify for the state meet in the all-around,” Morris said of Kessler, who averages well into the 9s on floor and mid 8s on vault. “She’s a tough kid who battles through injury,” he added. “She’s as graceful as anyone can be, powerful and focused.”

On Jan. 17 against Sewanhaka District, Kessler won the all-around with a season-high 33.75.

Morris has the luxury of three other gymnasts capable of being Oceanside’s No. 2 in the all-around in any given meet. Sophomore Amanda Eidelman and freshman Emma Gehrig are both in their third seasons in the program, and seventh-grader Emme Ortiz is the youngest gymnast on the roster.

Eidelman is scoring consistently well on floor, in the upper 8s, and is one of the team’s top performers on bars. “She does all the difficult tumbling on floor and works well on each piece of equipment,” Morris said.

Gehrig excels on vault and beam, and she has a chance to qualify for the state meet on vault where she’s scored as high as 8.4. “She works equally hard on all four events,” Morris said.

The coach describes Ortiz, whose already reached the state qualifier meet scores on floor and beam, as a “high-class gymnast who constantly works to get better.”

Sophomore Grace Snyder is an all-around contributor who especially boosts Oceanside’s numbers on vault and beam, while senior Katie Roughan is a specialist on beam with solid scores in the mid-7s.

Four of Oceanside’s last five meets are at home beginning this Friday against Long Beach at 5 p.m. The state qualifier is Feb. 14 at Great Neck South, and the county team championships are two days later at Bethpage.