Strong season continues for Saratoga gymnastics

"The season's going very well," head coach Deb Smarro said earlier this week.

In their latest win on Tuesday night, the Blue Streaks were led by Heather Markus, who took top honors in the vault (8.7), uneven bars (9.05), balance beam (8.95) and floor exercise (9.3) for a final score of 36.0. Saratoga defeated Guilderland, 172.1-166.6 in the home meet.

Markus, the team's sole senior, has led the charge for the Streaks, who are in the process of preparing for their upcoming sectional appearance.

"Heather is the reining all-star, our all-around champion from last year," Smarro said. "So far this year she has won the all-around in every meet. We're hoping that she can continue to do that and win sectionals. That's her goal. She's very good about picking her goals and then trying really hard to achieve them."

Besides Markus, this year's team is made up of one junior, two sophomores, and a freshman. The rest of the team is still in 7th and 8th grade, an atypical roster for such a strong team, but one that looks to remain strong as a result in the years to come.

"They're all very talented," Smarro said. 

In the Guilderland matchup, the Blue Streaks also got strong performances from Rema Bianco and Rachel Van Earden.

As for sectionals, Smarro said that they are "starting to get ready for those as we build the team camaraderie. We are the defending sectional champions as a team. We'll be going for our eighth in-a-row this year, my third personally as head coach."

So far, Saratoga has outstripped most of the local competition. Guilderland has put up a 3-0 season thus far, Bethlehem and Shenendehowa are 2-3 with Shaker  trailing at 0-5.

"There's enough competition out there that pushes us," Smarro said, "But I have a lot of depth on my team, and that depth really helps with our team totals. A lot of the other teams really have to contend with the fact that I have eight solid girls that can put up numbers for me." 

Despite the upcoming sectionals, Smarro said that she and the team are still focusing on the final dual meet of the season (Feb. 3 at Guilderland), and doesn't want the team to get ahead of itself before the close of the regular season.

"We still have a dual meet left that we need to get through.  We're still in training mode for routines and trying to clean them up, and maybe add more difficulty to them if possible. If we just try and forge through these last two dual meets, hopefully we'll peak right at sectionals," Smarro said.

But so far, Smarro is optimistic about the team's future.

"They're a great team," Smarro said, "a hard working team. We're obviously hoping for the best at sectionals, so we'll be able to continue our streak."