BRICK – In a sport that is all about the pursuit of perfection, every tenth is important, and mistakes, no matter how small, can be costly.
The St. John Vianney gymnastics team proved that point on their way to winning the school’s second state gymnastics team championship on Nov. 12, 2026, at Brick Memorial High School.
The Lancers were consistent throughout the evening, keeping mistakes to a minimum. Nowhere was that more evident than on the uneven bars, where SJV was able to put some breathing room between themselves and runner-up Hillsborough.
St. John Vianney scored a 27.125 on the bars and was the only team to score above 27 on the event. While Hillsborough saw one gymnast fall and another touch the mat while swinging around the low bar after an unclean high bar-to-low bar transition, the Lancers were able to keep their mistakes to a minimum. The difference was evident in the scores awarded. SJV’s top three scores, and the ones that count towards their team total, on the bars were 9.275, 9.175, and 8.675, while the Raiders’ top three scores on the event were 9.075, 9.05, and 8.6.
Kate DeSimone and Sierra Vaz led the way for SJV. DeSimone posted the second-highest all-around score for the evening with a 37.725, recorded the third-best bars score with a 9.275, and tied for third on the floor exercise with a 9.55. Vaz finished second on the vault with a 9.65. DeSimone and Vaz finished one-two on the balance beam with scores of 9.6 and 9.575, respectively. Ava Rosado and Gabriella Patino added additional top-10 finishes on vault and beam, respectively, for the Lancers.
Erin Gengler, Emily Minetti, and Ashley Womack led the charge for Hillsborough. Gengler tied for third on the floor and was the highest-scoring Raider in the all-around, finishing in fifth with a 37.025. Minetti finished third on the beam with a 9.55 and eighth on the floor with a 9.425. Womack tied for third on the vault with a 9.625. Aysia Lee added a fourth place finish for on the beam for Hillsborough scoring a 9.525.
St. Thomas Aquinas’ Alexa Cerchio recorded the top score on the vault with a 9.7 and Bridgewater-Raritan’s Alison Lardieri took top honors in the all-around with a 37.875, bars with a 9.55, and floor with a 9.6. Lenape’s Brianna Lauer rounded out the top-3 in the all-around with a 37.650.
The sectional winners all placed in the top-4 in the team standings. St. John Vianney took home the team title with a season high, 112.525, Hillsborough placed second with a 111.875, St. Thomas Aquinas took third with a 110.925, and Lenape came in fourth with a 110.350. Rounding out the final four places, Bridgewater-Raritan claimed fifth with a 109.050, Howell took sixth with a 107.075, Brick placed seventh with a 106.950, and Cherokee finished in eighth with a 105.700.
The Garden State high school gymnastics season will conclude Saturday with a individual state championships, also in Brick.
