Colts Neck, Marlboro rule District gymnastics team Cougars’ Diamond was area’s best BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer The Freehold Regional District was fortunate to have two of the eight best gymnastics teams in the state in Colts Neck and Marlboro. The area also had one of the very best individual performers in Colts Neck’s Lindsay Diamond. This year belonged to the first-year program from Colts Neck, which took the gymnastics world by storm. After a promising dual meet season, Michelle Silverstone’s Cougars peaked in the postseason, winning the Shore Conference and Central Jersey Section I titles. At the NJSIAA Championships held at Rutgers University, they were third. Diamond, the CJ all-around champion, along with Sydney Roth and Michelle D’Elea were the cornerstones of Colts Neck’s championships. And with freshman D’Elea, sophomore Diamond and junior Roth, the Cougars are going to remain a powerhouse. While Colts Neck was winning the trophy’s, Cathy Pierson’s Marlboro Mustangs, one of the state’s traditional powers, remained atop its game. The Mustangs were third in the conference and state sectional and eighth at the state championships. The ‘Stangs were led by their Big Three — Nicole Lallo, Lauren Jack and Jackie Mandelbaum. Manalapan put together another solid season for Dorine Shapiro. The Braves were the only other area team along with Colts Neck and Marlboro to qualify for the Central Jersey state sectional. Despite the Braves’ team success, the News Transcript’s 2004 All-Freehold Regional District Gymnastics Team is a Colts Neck-Marlboro affair. Representing Colts Neck are Diamond, D’Elea and Roth, while Marlboro is represented by Lallo, Jack and Mandelbaum. Last year Diamond was the Lone Ranger, competing without a team. This fall, she rose to the occasion as a team player and sparked the Cougars to their titles. Diamond faced the pressure of high expectations this fall after her brilliant freshman season, and handled the pressure flawlessly. She was second in the all-around at the SC and won the floor exercise. She came back the next week to repeat as the CJ Section I AA champion (37.35). The sophomore also won the floor exercise (9.375) in Central Jersey and was fifth on the vault, fourth on the bars and third on the beam. At the state championships, Diamond improved on her 2003 10th place in the all-around with a fourth-place (37.65). She was fourth on the beam, sixth on the bars, fourth on the vault and seventh on the floor exercise, as she placed on all four events. Diamond gained All-State recognition from the New Jersey Girls’ Gymnastics Coaches Association for the all-around. Roth also earned All-State recognition from the NJGGCA on the balance beam. At the state championships, the Cougar was eighth after taking a third at the state sectional and winning the beam at the Shore Conference. Roth wasn’t bad in the all-around either, taking third at the conference championships D’Elea made a big splash in her own way this year. She was fifth in the all-around at Central Jersey and she won the uneven bars. At the state championships she was 13th on the bars and eighth on the floor exercise. Like her other All-District teammates, she was an all-arounder. She was sixth in the AA at the conference, where she took a third on the bars. Marlboro’s trio of Lallo, Mandelbaum and Jack have been steady as a rock as a unit the past two years, keeping Marlboro among the state’s elite. All three competed in the all-around. Individually, they each had their moments in the postseason. Jack, a sophomore, was third in the AA in Central Jersey (36.625) and was second on the uneven bars. At the state championships, she tied for 13th on the balance beam. At the SC, Jack was fourth on the bars, sixth on the beam and eighth on the vault. Lallo was sixth on the bars at the conference championships, fifth in Central Jersey and tied for 13th with D’Elea at Rutgers. Mandelbaum was eighth on the bars at the conference meet and at the sectional was fourth on the vault. Those earning Honorable Mention are: Suzanne Travia, Freehold Borough; Kristine Rappa, Freehold Township; Stephanie Novelli, Howell; Arielle Phillips and Kayla Franzblau, Manalapan. 2004 All-Freehold Regional District Gymnastics Team Lindsay DiamondColts Necksophomore Danielle D’EleaColts Neckfreshman Sydney RothColts Neck junior Nicole LalloMarlborosenior Lauren JackMarlborosophomore Jackie MandelbaumMarlborojunior