Young gymnasts carrying Wantagh

Despite having a young team and dealing with several injuries, Wantagh’s varsity gymnastics squad is returning to the playoffs.

The team has already secured a spot in the county championship meet, and had four gymnasts qualify for state tryouts. The 14-girl team includes an even split of middle-school and high-school students, but three of the more senior gymnasts are out with injuries.

“I have a very young team this year,” said coach Eileen Keener, herself a former gymnast for Wantagh. “They’re eager to learn.”

Keener noted the enthusiasm and competitiveness of the girls, who strive to get better and work to support each other. During the season, practices are five days a week in the middle school gymnasium.

The team is led by senior Gillian Chowske. The captain is an all-around gymnast who participates in all four events — floor exercises, vault, balance beam and uneven bars.

“Besides her ability as a gymnast, she brings leadership,” Keener said. “She’s a great role model to the younger girls and a coach’s dream.”

Chowske, in her fifth and final year on the varsity squad, said she enjoys her role as the team’s elder statesmen, and said she will miss it when the season comes to an end. “It’s going to be weird not being on the team next year,” she said, adding that she is deciding between doing gymnastics or diving at the collegiate level.

Joining Chowske as qualifiers for the state tryouts are ninth-grader Ryann Henry, eighth-grader Grace Conway and seventh-grader Kaitlyn Taggart. Conway went to the state competition last year, and Keener said her strongest areas are floor exercises and the balance beam. The four were set to compete on Feb. 9 at Hicksville, two days before the county championships in Plainview.

The season wrapped up with a win against Oceanside on Feb. 4, and Wantagh finished with a 7-3 overall record. It placed third in the conference behind powerhouse teams Massapequa and Plainview-Old Bethpage.

The team has an assistant coach this year. Robin Harper, who owns a gym in Deer Park and has previously coached in Suffolk County for more than a decade, has joined the Wantagh staff.

Keener noted that there is no feeder program for the gymnastics team, but many of the girls do take lessons at private schools. “It takes a long dedication to become a competitive gymnast,” she said.