In an intense meet, the Raiders gymnastics team lost to the Arthur L. Johnson on Thursday, Sep. 24 by less than four points. This close match truly displayed the skills of the Raiders.
The first event was vault, which the Raiders did very well in. “I’d say the vault was our best event today,” coach Lisa Cerchio said, “Generally, we are strong on vault.” The second event was bars and the Raiders showed strength with powerful dismounts. The third event was the beam where there were creative mounts, tight back tucks, and powerful back handsprings. The fourth event was the floor, in which each girl on each team certain skills in their own routine, matched with catchy instrumental music.
Although the Raiders did experience a loss, their sportsmanship shined through.  Throughout the whole meet, their shouts of “Come on!”, “Let’s go”, and “You’ve got this” echoed throughout the gym, encouraging and reassuring members of both team.
Cerchio mentioned her hopes for the rest of the season, “We’re hoping to get some girls off the injured list,” she said, “we’re just looking to connect to the beam a little bit better, clean it up, and increase some scores.”
The next match is on September 28, 2015 at home against Westfield, at 4:30 p.m. in the old gym.