Chesterton gymnasts take feel-good vibes back to Crown Point for sectional tournament Saturday

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

Mindful of not overshadowing teammates, DAC all-around, balance beam and floor exercise champion Sammie Boster pointed out that she was not the only Chesterton athlete to have a good day Saturday at Crown Point, where the team finished sixth among eight schools.
Coach Christy Dzierba agreed.
Junior Sophia Mussatto made her return to gymnastics in the Portage dual meet. The DAC championship was her second competition after coming back from serious injuries sustained in club gymnastics before high school.
“Sophia coming back was a tremendous help,” Dzierba said. “Our team scores went up two, three points just adding her on three different events. Big improvement.”
Mussatto said she still isn’t healthy enough to compete in the vault because it’s “too much running.”
“I hope so,” Mussatto said of whether she feels her skills returning. “It’s been a long time.”
Mussatto has impressed her coach already.
“You can tell someone who’s done gymnastics all her life,” Dzierba said. “Her dance is beautiful. Her jumps and stuff are beautiful. You can tell someone who’s done dance and gymnastics.”
Freshman Adriana Perez, new to gymnastics this season, comes to the sport from cheerleading.
“Adriana went out and did the best floor routine she’s ever done,” Dzierba said. “We’ve been working on a lot of skills, a lot of drills, a lot of nitpicking.”
The coach also praised freshman Lexi Milton for the improvement she has shown.
“Lexi hit a good vault today,” Dzierba said. “We’ve been working a lot on drills on that, and she did well.”
The Trojans return to Crown Point on Saturday for one of the state’s six sectionals. The competition gets underway at 11 a.m. and Chesterton will be one of the 14 schools participating.
The top six place winners in each event and the top six in the all-around advance to the regional tournament in Portage on March 8 at noon.