Saturday, February 26, 2011

SPORTS: Ashland's PJ Treveloni is a gymnastics team leader

SPORTS: Ashland's PJ Treveloni is a gymnastics team leader

SPORTS: Ashland's PJ Treveloni is a gymnastics team leader

Posted: 26 Feb 2011 05:14 AM PST

Earlier in the season, Michelle Hopping, the first-year coach for the Medfield/Ashland/Dover-Sherborn co-op gymnastics team, believed P.J. Treveloni would make the Massachusetts contingent of the National High School Team.

The team's senior tri-captain from Ashland High didn't disappoint.

By scoring an impressive personal best total of 37.0 in the all-around at the Senior Super Bowl Showcase last month, Treveloni essentially cemented her spot among 21 Massachusetts high school seniors who will head to Fort Myers, Fla. in May for the nationals.

"I don't know what it was, but everything hit that day," said Treveloni.

She will be joined at the nationals by her MADS teammate, Julie Cerrato, a senior tri-captain from Medfield.

Both Treveloni and Cerrato are members of the exclusive Massachusetts High School Gymnastics 9.5 Club. To get membership in the club established by the Massachusetts State Gymnastics Coaches Association, a gymnast must score 9.5 or better on at least one of the individual events: floor exercise, balance beam, bars or vault. Cerrato recorded a 9.65 on the floor, while Treveloni had a 9.5 on both floor and beam this winter.

"P.J. has been our most solid gymnast and very consistent all season long," said Hopping. "She has dedication to the sport and a work ethic and she came in with a background with club gymnastics. She came in with good fundamentals and understands the sport. And she's been a good leader as well."

What's most remarkable about Treveloni's development into one of the state's top high school gymnasts is that her career nearly came to end at early age.

Treveloni started gymnastics lessons before she could remember at 2 or 3 years old. She continued doing gymnastics until, when she was 5, tripped outside while she was running, fell and hit her head on concrete. She fractured her skull and had bleeding in her brain. The severe head injury caused seizures, which she suffered for four years.

A year after the seizures stopped, she was given medical clearance and returned to gymnastics training at 10 years old.

Treveloni competed for two years at the Gymnastics Training Center in Holliston and then switched to the 10.0 Gymnastics Club in Stow.

After she entered high school, Treveloni joined the Holliston-Ashland co-op gymnastics team. Despite her extensive club gymnastics experience, she was not satisfied with her performances.

"That was probably the worst of my four years," said Treveloni. "I was still doing club and not taking high school as seriously as I should have. I just did it for fun. Most of my focus was on club. Because of that my scores were not as good as they should have been."

Sophomore year was a better experience.

"It was a lot better," said Treveloni. "I made it to states. That was very scary (at the state championships). I was one of the youngest people there. We made it to (South) sectionals as a team. We started in last place (as the 12th and lowest seed) and jumped up to seventh."

Before her junior year, Treveloni and the other Ashland members on the H-A co-op team weren't sure they'd be able to compete after Holliston dropped the sport. But with the help of H-A's former coach Amanda Smith, the Ashland gymnasts found a team, merging with the Medfield/Dover-Sherborn co-op program under coach Bill Matyskiel.

The Ashland gymnasts, led by Treveloni, made an immediate impact on the team of three Tri-Valley League schools. In its first meet, MADS totaled a final score 10 points higher than the program's previous best.

"It was nerve-wracking with a new coach who we had never met," said Treveloni. "It was a different set of girls. It was like being a freshman all over again. But the team was nice and welcoming to us."

Treveloni and Cerrato along with Jen Cutler of D-S were the top gymnasts on the team last winter and led it to the South Sectional, where it was seeded seventh and finished seventh.

"That was a good year and we did very well," said Treveloni. "I made it in all-around to states again. I probably progressed the most and made a huge jump to get my best scores. I put the focus on high school rather than club. I tried so much harder."

This season Treveloni helped lead the MADS team back into the South Sectionals, where they were seeded third behind Algonquin and Mansfield with an average meet score of 140.79. MADS (138.175) finished third behind Algonquin (141.175) and Wellesley (141.0) to earn a berth in Saturday's state meet.

Before the sectional meet, Treveloni set personal bests this season in floor with a 9.55, a 9.5 on beam, a 9.2 on bars and a 9.15 on the vault. All the PRs but the beam were set at the Senior Super Bowl.

"The floor is my favorite event by far," said Treveloni. "The other events have stuff that scares me, like falling off the bars. Heights scare me. Floor is on the ground. I'm more cautious in other events. On floor, falling does not occur to me."

With the 37.0 in the all-around, Treveloni was seeded fourth in the competition at the State Coaches Championships on Sunday, Feb. 13.

"It was nerve wracking, I really wanted to go to Nationals," said Treveloni. "There was pressure to do well and I let the pressure get to me. Ironically, I fell on the floor (exercise). It wasn't too bad but lowered my score."

She finished with a disappointing, but not disastrous 35.3.

The national meet in May could be Treveloni's final one as she is looking into colleges that do not have women's gymnastics programs. She wants to study forensic science. Her first choice is High Point University in North Carolina. She's also looking into the University of Tampa and Western New England College.

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