Franklin January 2020

Page 24 Franklin Local Town Pages www.localtownpages.com January 2020
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Sports
Franklin Gymnastics Learns from Sectional Experience
By Christopher Tremblay, Staff Sports Writer
In competing in only their
third season, the Franklin gymnastics
team not only finished
third in the Kelley Rex Division
of the Hockomock League
and fourth overall, but they also
qualified for the Sectionals for
the very first time. Although the
squad finished 11th out of 12
teams in the South Sectionals,
the girls were more than excited
to be there.
“It was tough for sure, but we
were psyched and honored to
be at the Sectionals for the first
time,” Franklin Coach Paula Lupien
said. “According to the other
coaches, it’s usually the same 12
teams from each side, but there
were two new faces in Franklin
and Norwood. There were a lot
of high level gymnasts participating.”
With a taste of the post season,
the Panthers are looking to
improve upon last years’ experience
and take their talent a step
further. This winter, Lupien is
looking to carry about 20 athletes
with about 13-15 actually being
contributors to the scoring. In addition
to the upper classmen on
the squad, she is looking forward
to a good group of freshmen entering
the high school program.
“As a team, we have the potential
to do better that last year
if we can stay injury free,” the
Panther Coach said. “That’s the
challenge with high school gymnastics
having 11 meets in 13
weeks. The girls are not used to
that, and it puts a lot of strain on
them.”
Looking to stay healthy and
lead Franklin into battle are the
team captains, juniors Sarah
Bernstein and Lexi Lupien.
Bernstein will participate on the
beams, and Lupien will take part
Franklin High gymnastics
captains, juniors Lexi Lupien and
Sarah Bernstein, will be counted
on to lead a young squad into the
next season.
in the beam, vault and floor. Last
season, Lupien was in the top of
the team for the vault, fourth on
the beam and sixth in the floor
exercise. At this point, the Coach
is not sure what she is going to
get out of Bernstein, as the junior
tore a muscle in the back of her
thigh during the off season.
In addition to the captains
guiding the way, Franklin has its
two top scorers in sophomores
Kate Rudolph and Caroline
Woelfel. Both athletes will take
part in all four events for the
Panther this winter, although that
wasn’t always the case.
“We expected Kate, who was
a Hockomock League All Star
last year, was going to be competing
in the all-around once
again this year, but we were not
expecting to lean on Caroline,”
Lupien said. “Unfortunately, one
of our all-around athletes is not
coming back, so we’re going to
need to fill that gap. Historically,
we have not used Caroline as an
all-around in the past, but she
has strong performances on the
floor, bars and vault. Her beam is
a wild card that we will need her
to step up her game in.”
Last year in the South Sectionals
Woelfel recorded an 8.4
on the floor, while her sophomore
teammate recorded a 33.950 in
the all-around posting an 8.875
on the floor, 8.125 on the beam,
8.150 on the bars and an 8.800
on the vault. The Panther coach
is looking for Rudolph to continue
to put up high numbers in
all four of her events once again
this season.
Franklin lost only three seniors
from last year’s team, but two of
those seniors were big time performers
and instrumental in the
team making the Sectionals. This
year, Lupien will rely heavily on
those girls coming back while integrating
the freshman.
“I am very excited about the
incoming freshmen and hope
that we can get something from
them,” she said. “We are going to
be a young team, and we’ll have
to see who steps it up and takes
their game to the next level.”
One thing the Franklin Coach
knows is that this team will have
a very deep bench when it comes
to the athletes, which in turn will
give her a lot of flexibility.
“We’ll be able to rely on many
athletes instead of just four or
five,” Lupien said. “It will also
Franklin Panther gymnastics Coach Paula Lupien will work to hone the
potential of this group, while working to keep them injury-free in a
demanding season.
make the team much more competitive,
and the girls will challenge
one another to see who gets
to take part in the next meet.”
Franklin is setting the bar high
this season, looking to be one of
the top two teams in the league,
and they know that it will be a
challenge as Mansfield has historically
owned the Hock when
it comes to gymnastics over the
past few years.
“They’re a powerhouse and
certainly tough to beat, but we’re
gunning for them this year and
pushing to be that top team,” the
Franklin Coach said. “We’d also
like to finish in the top 6 of the
Sectionals and move onto States;
that has been our pattern – move
up one notch from what we did
the year before.”
Lupien, who had been coaching
gymnastics for a private club
for 10 years and in the gym for
14 with her daughter, has seen
the decline in girls continuing in
gymnastics as they get ready to
enter high school.
“Every year I see the eighth
graders leave gymnastics to take
part in other high school sports,”
she said. “I’ve fought really hard
to get gymnastics back into the
high school, and now that we
have put together a strong program,
I am hoping that it has a
leg to stand on for a long time
here in Franklin.”
The rest of the team consists
of juniors Sophie Redwine, Kim
Marchese and Emma Mosher;
sophomores Lizzie Brown,
Megan Pritoni. Elizabeth Schirduan
and Kylie Winder; and freshmen
Ashley Hammann, Maia
Keohane, Katherine Kurtz,
Maddie McGuire and Emma
Nelson. Beth Hurley will assist
Lupien with the coaching.