GUILDERLAND — The Guilderland gymnastics team has gotten off to a strong start, including beating a team no one has beaten in a long time.

The Lady Dutch have dual meet wins over Shenendehowa and Saratoga heading into Thursday’s meet with Bethlehem. Saratoga has been the top team in Section II for the past few years.
"We’re undefeated so far, so you’ve got to like that," said Guilderland Coach Brenda Goodknight. "The wins state that we are not a team to be taken lightly.
"It was pretty nice to get the win against Saratoga," Goodknight added. "They have been undefeated for the last five years. It was a big win."

The meet was close and Goodknight wasn’t even sure that her team had won until the results were released at the end of the meet.
"We didn’t have a good day on the bars and beam," the coach said. "And we had some faults that counted against our score. I was as surprised as the girls. We had one of our better meets on the floor [exercise]. It was our highest scoring of the season."

The Dutch topped the Blue Streaks on Jan. 9 by a score of 167.9 to 166.35.

Dana Goodknight, the coach’s daughter, was the all-around winner with a score of 37.05. She won all the individual events as well. She won the vault, bars, beam, and the floor.

Goodknight is being recruited by some Division I schools but hasn’t made a college choice.
"She’s doing great," Brenda Goodknight said. "She is a consistent competitor."

Coach Goodknight also praised the performance of Toni Whitbeck this season, who is coming back from missing all of last season.
"All of last year, she was injured," Goodknight said. "She didn’t even try out. She is a diver in the fall and I got to coach her for the Guilderville team. It was a lot of fun. She’s in shape and has been consistent for us in three events. She doesn’t do the beam. She’s nice to have."

Goodknight also praised the work this season by Kristi Russell and Alexa Patnaude.
"They are doing a great job," Goodknight said. "Jen Diana is also doing a good job."

Goodknight is also getting points in meets from some seventh- and eighth-graders.
"They are coming in and scoring in different events," the coach said.

Catalena Diamante and Katie Govin have contributed as has eighth-grader Jasmine Day.
"It’s great to have depth like that," Goodknight said. "You need to have young kids to carry the program especially since we have a few seniors. We’ll definitely miss them."

"Exceptional athletes"

Goodknight said that most of the athletes on the team are dedicated to gymnastics year-round. Even if they play other sports.
"A lot of the kids are working out year-round," she said. "We have kids that play soccer in the fall, do gymnastics, and then do track or lacrosse in the spring. They are exceptional athletes, and, despite being busy, they are sticking with gymnastics. And that is helpful to any team and it doesn’t matter what sport it is, it makes a huge difference."

Goodknight is coaching a very dedicated group of gymnasts.
"This is a motivated bunch of kids," she said. "I don’t usually have to yell at anybody. Everyone is out there doing their part. I’m not pulling teeth trying to get them to learn new programs."

The team is split evenly this winter between high-school and middle-school students. There are nine of each on the squad.
"It’s been a while since it was really that even," Goodknight said. "The older kids are helping the younger kids. It’s a closer team. The parents are also starting to get more involved and that is helpful for me."

"Just me"

Goodknight can use all the help she can get. The assistant-coach position was cut from the school’s budget and Goodknight has been on her own for most of the season. The former head coach of the team is helping her, and so is a graduate.
"It’s just me," Goodknight said. "Mark McDonald comes down a couple of days a week to help out. He comes and volunteers and, with a team this large, I can’t say enough how helpful that is. And Krystal Myers, who was a senior last year and goes to college locally, helps out. It’s nice to have those guys."

The next step for Goodknight is keeping the Guilderland gymnasts focused after their pair of big wins.
"We still haven’t hit our peak," Goodknight said. "There are a lot of things we need to be working on and changes to be made. The girls see the big picture, rather than what they’ve done. And it’s really helpful for me, too."

This motivated group of kids has been easy for Goodknight to work with.
"If we miss conditioning," the coach said, "they let me know. They like conditioning. I’ve not had that before. These girls love it. And that is a difference between a team that is great to work with and one that is really good."

Goodknight knows that other teams will be gunning for Guilderland now that it has knocked off the mighty Saratoga team, but her team will be up for the challenge.
"This will spur them to work harder," Goodknight said. "Teams expect to lose to them. But now the girls want to win. They don’t want to wreck the season now.
"There is a lot of excitement," Goodknight said. "It’s good to be on top, but is hard to stay there. The kids understand that we have to clean up the weak spots before we meet them again. We have to be on our game next time they come here. Beating them once is great; beating them twice will be better."