After qualifying for the meet with a second-place performance at the State Open, the Hand girls’ gymnastics team earned runner-up honors when it competed in the New England Championship last weekend.

The Tigers posted a school-record total of 143.225 points on their way to taking second place at the New England Championship at Fairfield Warde High School on March 12. Hand finished ahead of third-place Woodstock Academy (143.10), which had placed ahead of the Tigers at the State Open. Franklin, Massachusetts took the New England title with a score of 148.20.

Freshmen Morgan Flickinger and Brooke Anderson were Hand’s top-placing athletes. Flickinger earned a medal on the bars by finishing in fifth place with a score of 9.425 at the New England Championship. Flickinger also scored a 9.35 on beam, a 9.1 on vault, and 9.05 for the floor exercise on her way to placing seventh all-around with a season-high score of 36.925 in the regional meet.

Anderson posted an all-around point total of 35.0 for the Tigers. Anderson scored a 9.3 on vault to finish in a tie for 11th place in the event. She also scored an 8.885 for the bars, an 8.55 on floor, and an 8.3 on beam.

Senior Paige Dean scored a 34.85 for the all-around. Dean finished with a score of 9.15 on the vault, an 8.85 on bars, an 8.7 for the beam, and an 8.15 on floor.

Sophomore Hadley Reiss scored a 34.15 in the all-around for Hand. Reiss recorded a score of 9.0 on the floor exercise to go with an 8.7 on bars, an 8.55 on beam, and a 7.9 for the vault.

Sophomore Abby Simpson posted a score of 9.05 on the beam for the Tigers at the New England meet. Freshman Olivia Consiglio finished with a score of 8.885 on the bars. Sophomore Morgan McMahon finished with a score of 8.8 on the floor exercise and an 8.65 on the vault to help Hand claim second place as a squad.

Hand had an undefeated regular season with a record of 11-0 this year. The Tigers went on to win their 22nd conference title with a first-place finish at the SCC Championship and then captured their 19th state title by winning the Class S State Championship, after which they finished in second place at the State Open.

—Chris Piccirillo