INSIDE THIS ISSUE SJ POWEr POLL ..............S2 GAMES TO WATCH ...........S2 PLAYEr OF THE WEEk ................... S6 FrEE
oCToBEr 2-8, 2019
Lewis and Williamstown football haven’t lost a step PAGE S2 www.southjerseysportsweekly.com
Hard work, tradition and family are the keys to victory for Washington Township gymnastics
Top of the podium By MIKE MONOSTRA Sports Editor
MIkE MONOSTrA/South Jersey Sports Weekly
Miranda Trolio practices her routine on the balance beam.
While most fall high school athletes head out onto the fields behind Washington Township High School after school each day for practices and games, a group of girls stays inside and heads down to the 9/10 gym to set up a balance beam, vault and uneven bars. The Washington Township gymnastics team starts and ends its practice the same way each day. The team gathers as a unit to set up its equipment and comes together again after practice to break everything down. Every home meet, they get decked out in the school’s red, white and blue colors. Every away meet, they proudly walk into the opposing gyms wearing their Washington Township jackets. They gather for pasta parties, volunteer and hang out together in and out of school Washington Township gymnastics is as tight-knit as any varsity team at the school. The team’s bond
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has been a crucial part to making the program South Jersey’s most successful in recent years. In the small world of South Jersey high school gymnastics, Washington Township stands out from the field. The Minutemaids have been an annual contender in the five-team Olympic Conference over the past half of a decade, winning the last three conference championships and recording five consecutive winning seasons as well as a sectional title in 2015. Recently, Washington Township’s achievements were recognized on a state level as head coach Lauren Pellecchia-Kupiec was named the National Federation of High Schools New Jersey State Coach of the Year. Ask any of the gymnasts on Washington Township why their program is so successful and they’ll name a variety of factors ranging from the team’s family-like bond to a culture of hard work. One thing they agree on is that Pellecchia-Kupiec, the Minutemaids’ third-year head coach, deserves much of the credit for the team’s success. please see GYMNASTICS, page S5