By RICH FISHER
Contributing Editor
It was a memorable November for female athletes at St. John Vianney, Holmdel – both for gymnastics and volleyball.
On Nov. 8, senior Giovannina Beltra claimed two of four individual events by winning the vault and bars at the NJSIAA Girls Gymnastic Championships at Brick Memorial. One week later, the Lancers girls volleyball team earned the first state championship in program history by defeating Immaculate Heart Academy, Washington Twp., in the NJSIAA Non-Public A finals at Franklin High.
St. John Vianney senior Giovannina Beltra sits happily upon the vault on which she earned her first-ever perfect 10 score from one judge during the vault competition at the NJSIAA Gymnastics State Championships. Beltra won the vault and bars titles. Courtesy photo
For Beltra, it was a triumphant return to high school gymnastics. After winning the state all-around title as a sophomore, the Monroe resident took last season off to focus on her club campaign with All-American Gymnastics in Ocean Township. This school season she just did two events.
“Taking the year off definitely helped with my body trying to recover a little and making sure I’m 100 percent healthy for my high school season and my regular season this year,” she said “My high school season helped me with my confidence through the entire year.”
Beltra was dominant in her two state vaults, scoring a high school career best 9.9 for the victory (she had a 9.9 in a Level 10 state meet for club). In her first vault she used a Yurchenko Layout to receive her first career 10 from one judge, and in her second vault she performed the Yurchenko Layout with a twist to earn her impressive final score.
“The 10 was very exciting,” she said. “I was so excited and so happy.”
In the bars, which is her favorite event, Beltra again won easily with a final score of 9.825.
The Boise State (Idaho) recruit felt the process was more important than the result.
“I did high school to build my confidence, get my body ready for the regular (club) season, get my mind right,” Beltra said. “I feel if I go into it thinking about it too much, I’m gonna overthink and not get the outcome I want.
“I try to relax and focus on myself. Just have fun with the team. Having my teammates cheering helped me settle down.”
Beltra began gymnastics at age 4 and “fell in love with it right away.” She has gotten good enough to earn a scholarship to Boise, which is coming off a Mountain West regular-season title.
“When I went on my visit, the minute I stepped off the plane it felt like home,” she said. “The coaches were amazing, the team was so sweet, the area is amazing. I liked the environment a lot. It was a great opportunity; I couldn’t pass it up.”
As she looks back on her high school career, the team memories overshadow her individual success as she said winning the state title in 2023 and the Shore Conference crown this year “are really the things that stick out to me.”
This season will also stick out to the Lancer volleyballers, who had to survive a near heartbreak in the South Jersey Non-Public A final at Paul VI. After third-seeded SJV took a 2-0 lead, the top-seeded Eagles rallied to tie it 2-2 and took a 13-10 lead in the fifth set, which was a 15-point match.
The celebration was on after St. John Vianney’s girls volleyball team defeated Immaculate Heart to win the NJSIAA Non-Public A crown. Courtesy photo
“If they felt pressure, I didn’t see it,” coach Jessica Gadaleta said.
As SJV mounted its comeback, Taylor Sofilkanich “blocked three of the last four points straight to the ground to give us the edge,” Gadaleta said. With the score tied 13-13 Ayana Warren served an ace as the Lancers tallied the final five points to avenge last year’s semifinal loss.
In the championship match, where each set went to 25 points, SJV took a 2-0 lead but trailed set three,16-8.
“They had all the momentum,” Gadaleta said. “We took a timeout and said we come back one point at a time. Gen (Millett) made a huge stop for us down the line that kind of sucked their momentum out.
“I knew we would win that game because they were so dialed in. They weren’t letting anything fall easy. I don’t know if anyone else felt they could come back from 16-8 but I certainly did and they certainly did and that’s what mattered.”
The coach called the championship “a storybook ending” for senior captains Gia Sergi, Sofilkanich and Millett. The Lancers were 86-19 in their four years as starters and went 26-1 this year.
“They were always building to this moment,” Gadaleta said. “The state title was never on our radar. We wanted to focus on winning the Shore Conference Tournament after a heart-breaking loss in last year’s final. So we were intent on winning a Shore title and in the process we built a team that could win a state title.”
Rounding out the squad were three-year starters Warren (a junior) and Amelia Moro (a senior) and senior two-year starter Diana Mackiewicz. Sophomores Carsyn Slicner and Daria Shnarevich and senior Helen Domashinski also aided the cause.
“It was 100 percent the players effort,” Gadaleta said. “They play with incredible joy and they love to be on the court together. They really care about each other and work hard for each other.”
“Winning a state title was just a culmination of our values, collective responsibility, everyone doing their job, executing from the floor to the bench players. It was incredible to see all their hard work pay off. I still can’t put it in words. I can’t believe this happened. It’s been an absolute dream.”