Billerica Memorial High School Gymnastics

Billerica Memorial High School Gymnastics is the gymnastics program of Billerica Memorial High School, a winter sport. A girls' varsity team has competed since the winter of 1973-74, and a boys' team competed from 1974-75 until about 1982. The girls' team tied for the league title in 2000-01, and by 2019-20 Billerica gymnasts competed on a cooperative team with Chelmsford and Tyngsboro, which won the Merrimack Valley Conference league meet in February 2020.

No gymnastics team appears in the records of Howe High School, and the first interscholastic team was formed in the 1970s. The Warrior of 1974 introduced the girls' Gymnastic Team as "a first year team" that had "accomplished more than we had hoped," and thanked "the best coach imaginable, Miss Scott, without whose help nothing could have been possible." By its third season, in 1975-76, the yearbook found the team's improvement "remarkable," and the girls' team of 1977-78, coached by Susan Hale and Diane Smith, had 29 members.

The boys' gymnastics team was a first year team in 1974-75. Never having competed in league meets, it won its very first meet, at home against North Reading, and also beat Methuen, while losing to "power house teams" such as Winthrop and Andover. The 1975-76 team, mostly underclassmen, set its sights on the North Shore Gymnastic League championship "within the next two seasons." Scott Stamp and Robert Tucceri coached the team of 1976-77, and in 1977-78 the boys broke the school's all-time scoring record with 84 points in a single meet. The 1979-80 team had "a very successful season" with several team and individual victories, and 1980-81 was a building year with only one senior. The yearbook of 1982 warned that "it is possible that there will not be a team next year," and no boys' team appears in the yearbooks after that season.

Mrs. Smith, with Miss Dolan as her assistant, coached the girls through the mid-1980s, when the team had four events, uneven bars, balance beam, vault and floor exercise, with six entries in each. The 1986-87 team finished 5-5 with a win over Chelmsford, and one of its gymnasts qualified in all four events for the state tournament; Coach Smith said that "Billerica has never been a strong gymnastic town. We, therefore, were very proud to be represented in the State Tournament." The 1987-88 team also went 5-5. In 1988-89, when there were rumors of no coach and no team, Dawn Ducharme took the job two weeks before practice began; her team went 2-6 but twice broke the school scoring record, with 116.45 against Methuen and 118.55 against Chelmsford. Ms. Ducharme coached the team into the 1990s, and a Billerica gymnast went to the national championships in Las Vegas in 1992.

The 1994-95 team, coached by Dawn Gearin, set five new school records against Lowell, Wilmington, Methuen, Chelmsford and North Andover, beat the defending champion Dracut, finished third in the Merrimack Valley Conference at 5-3, and sent a vaulter to the state individual meet. The 1996-97 team had a winning record of 5-4, and the 1997-98 team went 4-4 and was sixth at the Merrimack Valley league meet. In 2000-01, coached by Tina Maher, the team tied for first place in the league, as one of the Division II tri-champions. It was last at the conference meet the next year under Coach Pierce.

Karen Pierce and Tracy Borletto coached the team through the 2000s. The 2004-05 team had "one of their best seasons in years," and the 2005-06 team, coached by Ms. Borletto and Coach DeFronzo, broke the school record for the second year in a row, raising the team score from 131.3 to 132. The 2008-09 team, with no seniors, was fourth at the Merrimack Valley championship and had the conference's all-around champion, and the 2009-10 team reached the team sectionals for the second time in three years and placed tenth. Ms. Borletto was still coaching in 2013-14, with Ashley Hansbury and later Coach Arsenault as assistants, and Coach Rokas and Coach Arsenault led the team of 2016-17.

By the winter of 2019-20 Billerica's gymnasts competed on a cooperative team with Chelmsford and Tyngsboro. At the Merrimack Valley Conference league meet on February 6, 2020, at A2 Gym and Cheer in Salem, New Hampshire, Chelmsford/Billerica/Tyngsboro won with 141.45 points, ahead of Central Catholic and North Andover. The co-op, listed as Chelmsford-Tyngsboro-Billerica, was still competing in January 2025, when it hosted a meet at Absolute Gymnastics in Tyngsboro.

References

1. Warrior 1974: the girls Gymnastic Team, a first year team, and its coach Miss Scott
2. Warrior 1975: the boys gymnastics team, a first year team, wins its first meet against North Reading
3. Warrior 1976: the 1975-76 boys gymnastic team aims at the North Shore Gymnastic League championship
4. Warrior 1976: the girls gymnastic team in its third year
5. Warrior 1977: the 1976-77 boys gymnastic team, coached by Scott Stamp and Robert Tucceri
6. Warrior 1978: girls team of 29 coached by Susan Hale and Diane Smith; boys break the all-time scoring record
7. Warrior 1980: a very successful season for the boys gymnastic team
8. Warrior 1981: a building year for the boys gymnastics team
9. Warrior 1982: girls gymnastics; the boys gymnastic team may not continue in 1982-83
10. Warrior 1984: girls gymnastics team with Coach Mrs. Smith and assistant coach Miss Dolan
11. Warrior 1985: girls gymnastics team with Coach Smith and assistant coach Dolan
12. Warrior 1987: a 5-5 season and a state tournament qualifier; Coach Smith on Billerica as a gymnastics town
13. Warrior 1988: girls varsity gymnastics, 5-5
14. Warrior 1989: Dawn Ducharme becomes head coach; two school scoring records
15. Warrior 1990: girls varsity gymnastics, 3-7, coached by Dawn Ducharme
16. Warrior 1991: girls gymnastics with Coach Dawn Ducharme
17. Warrior 1992: winter sports review; a Billerica gymnast at the Nationals in Las Vegas
18. Warrior 1995: gymnastics team with Coach Dawn Gearin
19. Warrior 1995: third in the MVC at 5-3 with five school records
20. Warrior 1997: a 5-4 gymnastics season
21. Warrior 1998: 4-4 and sixth at the MVC league meet
22. Warrior 1999: gymnastics wins over Tewksbury, Wilmington and Dracut
23. Warrior 2000: gymnastics wins over Chelmsford and Wilmington
24. Warrior 2001: gymnastics team with Coach Tina Maher
25. Warrior 2001: the 2000-2001 team ties for first place in the league
26. Warrior 2002: gymnastics team with Coach Pierce and Assistant Coach Darrigo
27. Warrior 2002: after the Division II tri-championship, a difficult season
28. Warrior 2003: gymnastics team with Coaches Pierce and Tracy Borletto
29. Warrior 2005: gymnastics team with Coaches Tracy Borletto and Karen Pierce
30. Warrior 2005: one of the best gymnastics seasons in years
31. Warrior 2006: a school record team score of 132; Coaches DeFronzo and Borletto
32. Warrior 2009: fourth at the MVC championship and the conference all-around champion
33. Warrior 2010: gymnastics team with Coach Tracy Borletto
34. Warrior 2010: tenth at the team sectionals
35. Warrior 2011: gymnastics team with Coaches Borletto and Arsenault
36. Warrior 2013: girls gymnastics team with Coaches Borletto and Hansbury
37. Warrior 2014: gymnastics team with Coaches Ashley Hansbury and Tracy Borletto
38. Warrior 2017: gymnastics team with Coach Rokas and Coach Arsenault
39. Eagle-Tribune, February 2020: MVC gymnastics league meet, won by Chelmsford/Billerica/Tyngsboro
40. Local Headline News, January 16, 2025: North Reading-Andover co-op beats host Chelmsford-Tyngsboro-Billerica
41. Wikipedia: Billerica Memorial High School, athletics including girls gymnastics