It would’ve been natural for Marisa Schlossman to lose a little motivation this year.
The Plainview-Old Bethpage gymnast has been a star at the school in her sport for years: a two-time county champion and two-time state qualifier, Schlossman knows that the best level she has is better than everyone else in the area.
But great athletes aren’t built that way; they don’t need much to be motivated. So this season Schlossman knew that her competition had all gotten better, and that she would have to step up her game if she wanted to three-peat.
Then on her first event at the county championships on Feb. 11, disaster struck: Schlossman fell off the balance beam.
“Not the easiest thing to start on, walking on a 4-inch beam,” she recalled a few days later. “I was really annoyed at myself, but knew I didn’t need to panic.”
Schlossman most certainly didn’t panic: she was mostly flawless on the three remaining apparatus and claimed her third straight county title.
With a total score of 36.775, including a spectacular 9.65 on the vault, Schlossman beat out Syosset’s Vanessa Frullo and Wheatley/Carle Place’s Sammi Jacknis (third place) to win.
Those three, plus Syosset’s Sophia Bahiri, Ilana Slade, and Leah Chin will all be going to states in Buffalo on Mar. 1 for the state championships.
“She’s getting better and better, always looking to improve, and her maturity is really impressive,” said Plainview-Old Bethpage coach Deb Rut. “Seeing this is her last year, it’s a little bittersweet. She’s been great for us for six years now.”
Schlossman, who will be going to the University of Bridgeport (Conn.) on scholarship next year, said she recovered from the beam fall when she did her vault, and she predicted she’d shine there.
“I walked over to my coaches and said “I’m going to do this great vault, and land it, and everyone’s going to watch it,” she said with a laugh. “And then I did it and I was really happy.”
For Schlossman, who trains at the Farmingdale Gymnastics Academy, this season was about pushing herself and also enjoying one more go-round with the teammates that have become like family.
And heading to states, while hoping for a Top 10 finish, Schlossman hopes to just enjoy the experience.
“I want to do great, and hopefully Top 5, but just want to have fun with my friends and the great people I compete against here,” Schlossman said.
For Jacknis, making states as a senior is special, as it’s the first time she’s qualified for the all-around.
“Everything clicked at the perfect time,” Jacknis said. “I was definitely nervous, and I knew I had to put more (difficult) skills into my routine if I wanted to make it in all-around.”
Jacknis said her second vault “was probably the best one I’ve ever done,” but got nervous when she saw how high her opponent’s scores were. But she excelled on bars and got herself into the top three.
Jacknis, headed to Washington University in St. Louis in the fall, said she’s thrilled to be with the Nassau Co. group one more time.
“Once I went to states the first time we all became really close, so I’m really happy we get to go (to Buffalo) again,” Jacknis said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
