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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
The Walpole and Wellesley High School gymnastics teams entered Friday night’s Bay State Conference matchup looking a bit different than usual. Due to a circulating stomach virus plaguing its way through both locker rooms, the Raiders and Rebels were each forced to grind through their match with a limited number of participants.
The two lone available gymnasts for Walpole on Friday were Lauren Celardo and Carlie Cavanaugh, who performed incredibly well given the increased workload they were each handed with such short notice.
Despite a hard-fought effort by the two lone soldiers in Ceraldo and Cavanaugh, the Rebels fell by a final count of 116.8 to 40 to the Raiders.
Wellesley was led by a tandem of Emma Petrovich, Kristen Soderholm, Lilly Patneaude, and Sofia Puopolo. Wellesley’s efforts in vault and floor exercise proved to be a major difference in the match, as the Raiders were able to earn crucial points thanks to precision and great technique by Lilly Patneaude in both events, while Soderholm and Puopolo each excelled in floor exercise. Emma Petrovich’s attempts on the uneven bars also gave Wellesley vital points and inevitably allowed the Raiders to prevail over the Rebels.
