As winter finally shows signs of easing after days of heavy, historic snowfall, Malden High’s gymnastics team brought its season to a close on February 10th with a spirited end-of-season showcase.
Taking place in the high school’s gymnastics room, the showcase gave athletes a chance to perform their routines one last time—this time not for scores or ranking, but for their teammates, families, and coaches who supported them throughout the season.
The night highlighted the team’s progress across all events, with students performing on the vault, beam, bars, and floor. For many gymnasts, it was a stress-free opportunity to demonstrate skills they had been refining for months.
Coach Katie Bowdridge, a former gymnast who has been coaching gymnastics for over 30 years, began the night by welcoming the audience and sharing her immense pride for the team, emphasizing their “willingness to work hard and never giving up.”
Beginning in the vault room, sophomores Sophia Zhang and Phalangecia Jean Charles, and freshmen Taya Rubin-Wilson and Maria Diniz, lined up to tackle the oncoming challenge. Each gymnast ran down a certain length before jumping on a springboard to fling themselves into the air and soar over the vaulting table to stick a graceful landing. After the event was completed, the audience and gymnasts returned to the gymnastics room, where the rest of the night’s activities would take place.
Zhang’s mother expressed the amazement she felt while watching her daughter “progress in a sport she had never participated in before.” She continued, “Seeing the process move and her moves becoming cleaner filled me with immense pride.”
Up next was the beam, where those who wanted to display agility and balance could do so. Gymnasts carefully mounted the narrow beam, stabilized themselves, performed their chosen skill, and then backflipped or jumped off the equipment to conclude their routine.
During the routine, some walked back and forth across the beam, some performed leaps, while others decided to take it up a notch by leaning forward and lifting a leg into the air to form a stable platform with their body, such as sophomore Arielle Leconte and Diniz. The last gymnast in this event was junior captain Sofia Vargas, who left a memorable impact by initiating a cartwheel on the beam, after which, the team continued to the bars.
“There was no stress to throw us off—it was just a time to appreciate all the hard work we have put into the season,” commented Vargas.
On the bars, Zhang, Rubin-Wilson, Jean Charles, Vargas, and sophomore Mackenzie Hartin would take the stage. The following athletes flipped themselves on the first bar multiple times, waiting to find the precise momentum, before attempting to swing to the next bar.
To conclude the night, gymnasts who prepared a choreographed dance routine took to the floor to exhibit their floor exercise to a song of their choice. Due to the low stakes, first-time performers sophomores Eva Nguon and Derline Hyppolite, began the event with a dual performance.
Several other gymnasts would follow, such as Zhang performing to “Come Over” by Le Sserafim, Hartin performing to “Rose” by The Chainsmokers, and sophomore Alyssa Lynch performing to a mix of Disney classics.Nguon humorously shared, “Well, everyone was already doing a parting performance, so I dragged Derline to do one with me.”
With each floor exercise, the applause and excitement from the gymnasts only grew, with Lynch’s aerial—a no handed cartwheel in the air—earning her excited cheering.
With the season’s end, coaches and gymnasts alike leave the season filled with pride at their successes and cherishing the bonds formed. “As a freshman, this sport became a place where I was introduced into the high school environment and expanded my social circle,” voiced Vanessa Huang.
Beyond the flips and scores, this season highlighted the incredible grit and teamwork these athletes brought to the mat each, with Coach Michael Nicholson urging them to “continue” to practice their skills to ensure no “skills are lost for the next season.”
“Working with this group of kids has been a wonderful experience, and seeing as we only had one senior on the team, I’m hoping to see familiar faces on the team next year,” concluded Nicholson.
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