Long Beach Gymnastics Off to Solid Start

With high school basketball, wrestling and winter track all in full swing, high school gymnasts are competing across Long Island in relative anonymity. While the sport generally captures the interest of the public once every four years when Olympians compete, at Long Beach High School the sport is alive and well, each and every year.

Head coach Billy Muirhead has been leading Long Beach gymnasts since 1981. It never gets old for Muirhead, who was a two-time All-County gymnast at Long Beach in the mid-1970s.

"The most important thing to me is that the girls are having a good time being part of a team," Muirhead said. "They're learning how to compete. If they're having fun out there, then it's always enjoyable for me."

Despite a 146.30 to 131.70 loss to host Hicksville in the opening meet for both schools on Monday, Long Beach had a solid showing against a stronger program.

Hicksville competes in a top conference, while Long Beach is the third seed in Conference II. South Side, Cold Spring Harbor, Roslyn, and North Shore should all be among the elite teams in the Conference II this season.

Muirhead was pleased with his team's performance. "The girls did a better job than I thought they would against a solid opponent," Muirhead said. "The season started a week earlier than normal, so everyone is a little behind. We haven't had as much practice. I was impressed by our girls."

Long Beach enters the season without senior Jenny Kaufman, who opted to compete for her club team this winter. She finished third overall in the state as a junior, and was the top vaulter on Long Island. She's a two-time All-State performer who earned All-America honors as a junior.

Two seniors, Danielle Rueda and Megan Cabasino, return for the Marines. Rueda earned All-America status as a sophomore on the floor exercise. She took third place on the uneven bars in the Hicksville meet. Cabasino, who also claimed All-America recognition as a sophomore, finished a solid second on the vault, floor exercise and balance beam against Hicksville.

Junior Nikki Morrison, an All-County performer as a sophomore, will compete on the vault, floor exercise and uneven bars. Fellow juniors, Taylor Vargas and Nicole Toledo, both compete on the uneven bars and the vault. Vargas earned All-Conference honors in 2009.

Sophomore Harli Weitz is solid on the balance beam and the vault. Eighth-grader Tara Murphy is showing tremendous promise on all apparatus, especially the uneven bars. She performed very well in her first varsity meet.

Muirhead, who is assisted by Maureen Harker, likes the makeup of his team.

"They're a hard-working group," he said. "They understand that they need to put the time in if they want to get the results."