Oceanside wins conference crown

Seventh-grader Lexi Kessler continued to dazzle last Saturday as Oceanside clinched the Nassau Conference II gymnastics title with a season-best performance that locked it into the No. 5 spot in the county.

Kessler won the all-around with a score of 32.6, highlighted by a 9.0 floor routine, to lead the Lady Sailors to a 149.15-142.4 victory at North Shore. It was their eighth win in nine meets. Senior Kristen Kennedy scored 8.35 to lead the way in vaulting.

“We’ve become a country music-listening team, and Luke Bryan was blasting the whole bus ride home,” Oceanside coach Andy Morris said. “The girls were excited. We’ve got a nice mix of seniors and underclassmen.

“Last year was the first time in 33 years we didn’t make the county meet, so it’s nice to be back on the map,” Morris said.   

The Lady Sailors, who conclude the regular season Thursday against Long Beach, will bring an average of approximately 147 points to the county championships at Long Beach on Feb. 5. Only eight of Nassau’s 20 teams qualify for the event. “I’d like to see us finish in the top five,” Morris said. “The four teams above us are outstanding. Hicksville is right there with us. That’s the main opponent I’ll have my eye on.”

Kessler has opened plenty of eyes this winter with her incredible talent, Morris said. She has met the state qualifying score in three events (floor exercise, uneven bars, vault) and ranks among Nassau’s top 10 gymnasts in the all-around. “Lexi’s such a phenomenal kid and gymnast,” Morris said. “She does everything beautifully. The more we’ve added to her routines, the more her scores have increased.” Kessler averages 8.85 on floor, 8.15 on vault, 8.0 on balance beam, and 7.4 on bars.

Kennedy, said Morris, worked extremely hard during the offseason and has been Oceanside’s top performer on vaults with an average of 8.2. She averages 8.0 on floor and in the high 7s on beam. “Kristen has always brought a great and fun attitude,” he said. “She’s really stepped up on vault to go with good beam and floor routines.”

As she’s done the past four seasons, senior Emily Buda continues to be a consistently solid scorer in the all-around. Senior Rachel Levine has contributed in beam and floor, senior Julia Katz has been a big plus with an improved vault, and senior Kim Margolin is one of the team’s leading performers on beam.

Junior Lauren Grodsky’s floor exercise scores have long been on the rise and recently reached 8.0. She also contributes on bars and vault. Sophomores Ally Barry and Courtney Pinto have been keys to Oceanside’s success, Morris said, and bolstered the lineup in bars and beam, respectively. Along with Kessler and Buda, Barry starts in all four events.

The Lady Sailors avenged their only loss of the season on Jan. 23 by knocking off visiting South Side, 147.45-137.95.