Hopewell Gymnastics
Hopewell Sports Nation Sits Down with the Girls Gymnastics Team for Post-Win Interview
On Monday, February 23rd, I had the pleasure of sitting down with the entire girls’ gymnastics team to reflect on this season, the challenges they faced, and the accomplishments that have brought them to where they are today!
In this interview, I asked a series of the same questions to each gymnast to gauge their ideas and thoughts about their own experiences of the 2025/26 Season. The questions below were the ones asked during this interview. Each girl’s response will be under their respective name for each question asked.
Which event, vault, bars, beam, or floor, do you feel was the ‘turning point’ for the team?
Were there any specific goals going into this meet that made the team able to win?
Gymnastics can feel like an individual sport, but the Silver Division title is a team effort. How did you all support each other throughout the competition?
What was the most challenging obstacle you faced this season, and how did winning today make that struggle worth it?
Who do you want to thank for either supporting you through this season or for pushing you to become a better gymnast?
The entire team came up with a consensus for each question, and their responses are as follows:
- The majority of the team, including Lia Eberhardt, Stella Vallecorsa, Camryn Pedaline, Madison Bradford, and Makenzie Zupsic, all said that the floor was the turning point of this meet, where everyone supported each other, and routines were solid. Reece Jesko said she believed that bars were the turning point to winning states as a team.
- All of the girls said that their main goal was to make it to the states compeition and WPIAL competition as well as scoring over a 132 team score. Individual goals included Lia Eberhardt mentioning the perfection of technique with vault, Stella Vallecorsa mentioning a goal about trying to perfect her beam routine, and the effort that led up to it. Reece Jesko said that her goal was to get a good score on floor. Makenzie Zupsic said that her goal was to maintain a high standing while competing at a Gold level as a freshman and maintain self-wellness with her ankle injury. Madison Bradford spoke about staying on the beam and not injuring her back more than it currently is. Camryn Pedaline’s goal is to place on floor at a large meet such as WPIALS.
- Lia Eberhardt spoke about giving words of encouragement and helping one another. Stella Vallecorsa said talking to her teammates about having a positive mindset will lead to a positive outcome, Reece Jesko said giving your all at the competitions. Makenzie Zupsic spoke about praying before the competition and constructive criticism from the captains, Madison Bradford spoke about the prayers as well, and helping each other through difficult times. Camryn Pedaline spoke about cheering during the events to provide support during those events.
- Lia Eberhardt talked about technique, Stella Vallecorsa talked about consistency and gaining new skills, Reece Jesko talked about people quitting and not knowing what was going to happen at meets, Makenzie Zupsic talked about her ankle injury and how not to let all of the negative thoughts get to you during a competition, and Madison Bradford talked about her back injury and how that made it difficult this season, and Camryn Pedaline spoke about not overworking herself becasue of her injuries as well.
- All of the girls spoke about wanting to thank their coaches, Terri G., Jessica I., and Sherri M. They also wanted to thank Mr. Lamenza for his support at events, and all of the girls wanted to thank their parents for the support that they gave to them during this season.
This gymnastics season was definitely a memorable one with different memories to be shared and bonding moments to be had. Congratulations once again to all of these girls for achieving such an extraordinary accomplishment. The pictures were captured at the boys’ basketball game, where the gymnasts were recognized.
