The Champlain Valley Athletic Conference is down to three teams in gymnastics season as the Ticonderoga Sentinels will not field a team.

The season should still feature plenty of great action as the Beekmantown Eagles prepare to defend their Section VII title and CVAC championship from a year ago.

The Plattsburgh Hornets, who finished on the heals of the Eagles a year ago, come back with an extremely young but determined team and hope to improve enough to be a factor late in the season.

The Peru Indians have continued to improve over the past few seasons and under the tutelage of some new coaches hope to find themselves contending for a title this season.

Beekmantown

The Eagles only lost a trio of gymnasts off of their championship squad from last year, but they are huge losses.

Returning, however, is Alyssa Leonard, who a year ago finished second in the all-around with a 34.20.

"Leonard will probably be the leader on this team," Beekmantown coach Sheree Trudeau said. "She has been hitting all of the moves she has been working on this year. She still has a lot more to come, and it is exciting to see."

Another gymnast Trudeau is expecting to have a great year is Lydia Gricoski.

"She has improved so much," Trudeau said. 'I think she is going to have a large improvement from last year."

The floor seems to be the strong suit for the Eagles this season, but Trudeau is hoping to raise the scores on the other events.

"Our floor is impeccable," Trudeau said. "All of our gymnasts are on the top of their game.

"I believe we have a chance again this year, as long as we keep our heads on straight. If we stay away from any distractions, we have a chance to repeat."

—

Athletes lost

Tiffany Adas, Emily Vasquez, Mikaela Frechette.

Returning athletes

Alyssa Leonard, Lydia Gricoski, Abby Cerne, Erica Leonard, Sabrena Starace.

Newcomers

Alison Trudo, Kailey Quackenbush, Olivia Pizarro, Alisha Adas.

Peru

The Indians have been on an upswing the past few years.

New head coach Krista Brown hopes this is the year everything comes together for Peru, which lost just one gymnast from last year.

"I think we look pretty good," Brown said. "I think we have the largest team in the league this year and with so many returners that is great.

"We have new coaches, new routines and new training. So far I think it is paying off. They have been working very hard and hope to improve our presentation and skills."

The Indians will rely heavily on three returners: Alexandra Brown, Lexi Trombley and Molly Lawliss.

All three finished strong last season in the all-around at the Section VII championships with Brown (31.40) placing sixth, Lawliss (30.07) seventh and Trombley (29.72) eighth.

"If we can have a solid start and keep improving, I hope to be peaking at sectionals," Brown said. "I think this should be a fairly interesting season."

—

Athletes lost

Jordan Haulton.

Returning athletes

Alan Rivers, Alexandra Brown, Becca Pellerin, Karsyn O'Donnell, Katelin Monty, Kierah LaGrave, Lexi Trombley, Meredith Barnaby, Molly Lawliss, Victoria Mitchell, Mason Fortin.

Newcomers

Abigail St. Louis, Brittany Hathaway, Gabrielle Dion, Leah Forget.

Plattsburgh

The Hornets were less than a single point behind sectional champion Beekmantown last season.

Plattsburgh has been hit hard by graduation and will field one of its smallest teams in years.

"We are a very small team," coach Janice Trudeau said. "So our biggest thing this year is to stay injury free. We have to because we have the bare minimum."

The top performer from last year, Emy Russell, returns to help out her younger teammates. Russell was first overall in the all-around a year ago at sectionals with a 35.00.

Dalen Keswick will also be relied upon for leadership this season.

"I had a lot of younger athletes going into their first competition," Trudeau said. "They did a lot better than expected. I was really pleased.

"I think they will grow and will get stronger, I hope. Our goal is to continue to work hard and build our skill base to become a stronger team."

—

Athletes lost

Justin Curtis, Tess Jones-White, Stephanie Cutaiar, Gus Rietsema, Carly Gardner.

Returning athletes

Emy Russell, Dalen Keswick, Julia Karkoski, Kianna Giroux.

Newcomers

Clair Deshaies, Hannah Kaltenbach.