In roughly 10 months, Izzy Barczyk will be on her way to Stockton University, where she will compete in track and field and leave gymnastics behind.
“It’s been a lot of sacrifice. My body has gone through a lot, but gymnastics is so rewarding,” said the Southern Regional senior gymnast after she and her teammates racked up a season-high 106.425 points to defeat Manasquan on Oct. 8. “This sport is more mental than physical, so the mental strength I’ve gained over the years has been immense. But the biggest thing I’ll miss about it is the people. We’re really like a family, so leaving behind my second family will be tough. Gymnastics has given me so much. I’m grateful for everything the sport has given me.”
On Senior Night, Barczyk was given the opportunity to compete in all-around for the Rams, the first time in her high school career. She made the most of it, scoring a 34.05 to help lead Southern to its second victory of the season.
“It was a little stressful because I’ve never done all-around for high school, just club,” she said. “It was exciting. I’m very happy with my performance today. And I’m even happier for our team; scoring 106 is insane.”
Barczyk started her all-around effort with a vault of 8.8, then followed with an uneven bars routine that scored 7.65. Prior to her floor routine, which yielded a score of 8.85, she delivered perhaps her most memorable routine of the season on the balance beam.
“All of last season, even during the club season, I could not land a complete beam routine,” she said. “It was very frustrating. I kept falling off at least once on every routine. But today was a breakthrough. I was so happy.”
WELCOME BACK: Southern Regional junior Gianna Ilaria shifts position on the uneven bars during the Rams’ win over Manasquan, marking the third straight meet in which Ilaria competed after missing the first two of the season.
Utilizing multiple passes and several stunts, Barczyk cleanly maneuvered through the routine, wavering just once about halfway through it, before she completed her dismount and stuck the landing. As she hopped off the mat, a big smile on her face, she was met by an equally excited classmate, Kaci Zoladz, and they shared some joyful jumps and high-fives.
“My gymnastics career has been great,” Barczyk said. “I’m not doing club this year, so it’s really nice to finish my career here, spending time with these girls, because they’re amazing. It’s been so awesome to be with this team the past four years.”
Awesome also sums up Zoladz’s career, which has been a bit of a roller coaster at times due to injury. And she, too, did something she’d not done until this season: she scored a second straight all-around score of 35.5 or higher to qualify for the NJSIAA Individual Championships.
After delivering a 36 for the Rams during their narrow, 104.55-104.4 loss to Brick Memorial two days earlier, Zoladz tallied a 36.375 against Manasquan.
“I have this saying, ‘Striking the matches,’ and it basically means you have to burn down your entire old world to change and grow,” Zoladz said. “For me, this season was all about forgetting everything that happened my sophomore year with the injury, even though I re-tore my ankle over the summer, and come back better than before. The goal was to make the state meet and go out with a bang.”
After scoring a 9 on vault to start the contest, Zoladz just missed the same score on the bars, where her routine yielded an 8.95. She completed her routine and stuck the landing on the beam, garnering a 9.1, before she finished her career-high all-around effort with a 9.35 during her floor exercise.
WATCH THIS: Southern Regional senior Kaci Zoladz takes a flying leap right in front of the judges during the floor exercise portion of the Rams’ victory on Oct. 8. Zoladz qualified for the NJSIAA Individual State Championships with another high all-around score.
“I came into the high school my freshman year, and I didn’t want to do high school gymnastics,” she said. “But I did it and ended up loving it. Sophomore year, I had the injury to my ankle, so my junior year was a little rough as I was coming back from that. But this year, it’s like a breath of fresh air. I have a much better mindset, and I’m still competing at a high level, so it’s been really great.”
Alongside Barczyk and classmates Molly Kirk and Kira Skiendzielewski, Zoladz was tasked with being more of a leader this season, and one of the goals was to make sure the team stuck together.
“I really wanted us to unify as a team,” she said. “It was my last time to be part of a team that’s truly together, because during the club season that’s not really a thing. So that was important to me; coming together as a team, and scoring well, were a big deal.”
Fortunately, the goal of scoring well as a team has been boosted by the return of junior Gianna Ilaria, who was still recovering from a back injury when the season began and didn’t participate in the first two competitions. She returned to action on Oct. 1, when the Rams defeated Manchester for their first win of the season.
“I’m probably not going to be doing all-around until next season, but that’s OK,” Ilaria said after scoring an 8.75 on bars, 8.8 on beam and 8.7 on floor during last week’s win. “When we started, I didn’t even know if I’d compete this season, so I’m really glad to be back and doing something to help the team. My goals were only to get back and at least compete at the Shore Conference Championships.”
STICK IT: Southern Regional junior Leah Rigby focuses on her landing after a clean dismount from the balance beam during the Rams’ 106.425 effort against Manasquan.
While Ilaria has qualified for the Shore Conference meet, slated for Oct. 24, the primary goal is to keep her healthy for the NJSIAA South Jersey sectional competition on Nov. 7.
“I’m not going to be doing vault, but I’ll do my best at the sectional meet and hopefully qualify for the state meet,” Ilaria said. “The most important thing is that I try to be 100% healthy for next season. I want to be able to come back and be the best I can for the team next year.”
As for the rest of the team against Manasquan, junior Leah Rigby helped lead the way on vault with a score of 9.0, followed by Kirk with an 8.6 and Skiendzielewski with an 8.5. Besides Kirk’s 7.925 on the bars, McKenna Fenkel added an 8.25, while Rigby contributed an 8.5 on the beam. Kirk and Rigby delivered scores of 8.225 and 8.85, respectively, on the floor.
Head coach Paige Peragine’s Rams were scheduled to finish the regular season at home against Toms River East and Toms River North on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
“I’m so proud of them for what they accomplished today,” Peragine said of the season-best total. “Starting the season without Gianna was a hit to our confidence, and that was difficult. Our second meet was close, and it was frustrating to lose by .05, but it still seemed to give us a boost, and that got a fire started. Once Gianna was back, that’s when things dialed up. Her presence in the lineup helped our girls settle in and really focus, and the past few meets have been amazing. They really turned things up.”
