CHICOPEE – On the day of the Western Mass. Gymnastics Championships, Hampshire Regional junior Tyler Hetu found himself in an urgent care.
Recovering from illness, Hetu had been under the weather all week, but on Saturday he decided to get checked out before his meet. The verdict – pneumonia.
“He wasn't sure he'd be able to compete. When he got to the meet he said, ‘I don't feel any worse than I did yesterday at practice. I’d like to try beam and bars,’” Hampshire head coach Lisa Anthony said. “He ended up going all-around – we thought he wasn’t gonna do anything, and then he went to two events, and then he went to four events, which was great. His score pretty much secured our win.”
Despite feeling under the weather, Hetu took first in beam with a score of 8.85 points and finished third all-around with a 33.975. Senior Hailey Raffa stole the show for the Raiders, taking first in bars (8.85), floor (8.55) and vault (9.225) and winning the all-around event with a 35.525 total score.
Hampshire's depth earned the Raiders their second consecutive Western Mass. title on Saturday at Chicopee Comp. Had the event not been canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19, it likely would have been their third straight win; the Raiders won their league in 2020 but couldn’t defend it at Western Mass. Their overall team score of 136.65 was the best score that Anthony could recall her team ever achieving during her time as head coach.
The team also won their second consecutive Sportsmanship Award, which was “icing on the cake” for the Raiders.
“We're competitive but we're still friends at the end of the day,” Anthony said of the support between the Western Mass. teams. “We support each other and winning that award just meant a lot because we won it last year, too. We were definitely, definitely not expecting to win it again.”
Westfield took second at the meet (132.625) and Minnechaug (125.275) rounded out the podium in third.
Besides winning beam, Hetu placed second on floor (9.200) and third on vault (8.825). Also placing for Hampshire in the all-around was Avery Tudryn, who finished sixth (32.500). Tudryn tied for sixth on vault with a score of 8.450. Maddie Hollister had a strong showing for the Raiders as well, placing third on the bars (8.350) and tying for fourth on beam (8.550). The only event that Raffa didn’t win was beam, but she still placed sixth (8.500) in that event.
It was a bittersweet meet for the Raiders, which will graduate three seniors in Raffa, Katie Sullivan and Samantha Moran. All three captains have left lasting marks on Hampshire’s gymnastics program.
“Katie has been on the team for six years, she was a captain, and she is the sweetest, kindest, most coachable kid you'll ever have on your team. She's always there to help,” Anthony said. “She had her highest score on floor (on Saturday)...she was so excited. She's really gonna be missed because the kids really look up to her.”
“Samantha has also been on the team for six years, and she was a captain as well,” Anthony continued. “She brings lots of energy into the gym. She's got a very bubbly personality, she’s a wonderful role model and leader.”
While all three seniors will be missed, it’s undeniable the impact that Raffa has had on the gymnastics program. The gymnast has consistently been Hampshire’s top performer during her career with the Raiders, and while she plans to continue gymnastics in college, not having her in the gym will be an adjustment for the Raiders next year.
“(Hailey) was just really good assisting me in practices. She’s a good role model and leader,” Anthony said. “She’s just solid, she is so determined and so consistent on everything.”