Freehold Township junior Alexis Czarrunchick left the NJSIAA Individual Championships at Brick Memorial High School with a big smile on her face and the feeling of “accomplishment”.
Czarrunchick won a silver medal for the all-around competition at the state tournament by scoring a total of 38.225 points in the four events (beam, floor, vault and bars).
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11/11 - 12:00 AM Gymnastics Final Brick Memorial 0 St. John Vianney 0
“It felt like a big accomplishing (placing second in the all-around),” Czarrunchick said. “Trusting my gymnastics and trusting what I can do helped me get to where I got (today).”
Czarrunchick made the podium in all four events. She earned a second-place finish in the beam and then placed fifth in each of the floor, vault and bars events.
Last year, Czarrunchick finished third in the all-around competition at the state tournament. She had previously won a gold medal by finishing atop the all-around standings during the Shore Conference Championships in 2022.
A big key in Czarrunchick taking home a silver medal this year at the state championships was her improvements in both the beam and the bars, she said.
“Normally, my stronger events are floor and vault, but today I was having a really bars and beam day,” Czarrunchick. “That really helped and hopefully I can keep it up.”
Christina Fallon from St. John Vianney placed first in the all-around competition by scoring 38.575 points to win the overall individual state championship.
St. John Vianney’s Giovannina Beltra took third place with 38.125 points. Rumson-Fair Haven’s Natalie Lindgren (37.875) and Middletown South’s Emma Gentile (37.475) round out the top five in the all-around standings.
Czarrunchick, who helped the Patriots win back-to-back team state championships from 2021-22, sees her performance this year in the state tournament as a big “confidence booster” for her heading into next season.
She feels her new-found confidence can help her improve on her craft even more heading into next season to try to help Freehold Township get back to the top of the mountain as state champions and make a run of her own at an individual state crown.
“I’m really hoping to accomplish the same things and do better next year,” Czarrunchick said.
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Steven Bassin can be reached at SBassin@njadvancemedia.com.