Clarkstown's Shannon Berrigan has been a varsity gymnast for the past two years, but Monday afternoon, she accomplished a personal first.
For the first time as a high school gymnast, Berrigan became a divisional all-around champion. The Clarkstown freshman won it with a score of 37.2 at the Division I championships at Lakeview Elementary School, a year after suffering a back injury.
"It's pretty exciting," said Berrigan, who missed last year's divisional due to the injury but competed in all other meets. "Coming back from injury, I came back stronger than I expected. So I'm happy with the results."
Berrigan won the title very comfortably. Mahopac's Melissa King, who finished second, was more than two points behind at 34.9.
"It was nice to finish the season strong and get a good all-around score in one of the last meets of the season," Berrigan said.
Berrigan also won in the floor exercise and uneven bars.
Her score helped Clarkstown retain their Division I team title with a score of 171.6. Mahopac finished second with a score of 166.2.
"I think we did really well," Clarkstown's Olivia Blachno said. "Everyone came out and did what they needed to do. Even though we had a couple of falls on beam, we made up for it with everyone having great floors. Everyone made their bar routines, so that was crucial."
Clarkstown will defend its sectional title at Thursday's Section 1 team championship at Carmel High School at 4:30 p.m. Clarkstown awaits the winner of the Division II championship that takes place Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. at the Dutchess County Gymnastics Center in Fishkill.
The top 10 athletes from the individual events along with anyone who scored a 31.00 or better in the all-around advance to sectionals.
Mahopac came away with one Division I champion in Liz Allen, who won the balance beam.
King was happy with the way the team performed.
"We did really well," King said. "Everyone went out there and did their routines to their best of their abilities."
Lakeland/Panas' Leanne Castelli was the Division I vault champion. She had to withdraw from the rest of the competiton due to a bruised knee incurred in the warmup for the uneven bars.
Other highlights from the meet included Edgemont team member Heather Schneck of Briarcliff finishing sixth in the all-around with a score of 33.5.
"It's good for me," Schneck said. "I mainly focus on floor and beam because those are my strong points. If I clean those up, I think I have a good shot to make states."
Ossining's Lea Cohen-Soal had a solid day, placing seventh in the all-around and third on the uneven bars.
