Area Student Gymnast Lands Perfect Score at Watertown Meet

By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZEL
WATERTOWN

Lilly Stalter of Meredith, a gymnast at the Oneonta YMCA, scored a perfect 10.00 at a meet in Watertown on February 28. Stalter, a homeschooled senior in high school, is the third YMCA gymnast in New York history to achieve the feat, according to the Oneonta YMCA.

“It was very surreal,” Stalter said. “I’ve never seen it happen, so I was very, very surprised,” adding “it literally felt like a dream.”

Scores, which start as perfect and then have deductions throughout a routine, are difficult to keep so high.

“I was told it’s the first that’s ever come out of our YMCA. So I think it’s pretty cool,” Stalter said.

“I felt like I had a great routine. But when I saluted the judge, I felt like something was different,” Stalter said.

When Stalter completed her 90-second floor routine, which drew on her experience as a dancer, the judge stood up.

“I knew what that meant,” Coach Tara Robinson said. Stalter “did not know what that meant. And I told her that the judge wanted to see her, so she walked over there, and then the judge flashed the score of a 10.00.”

The team went “crazy,” Stalter said.

Coached by Robinson, Stalter has been competing in gymnastics for about a decade.

“She’s a performer and she’s an extremely strong athlete, so she does skills that are not easy,” Robinson said.

Stalter said she plans to attend a dance academy next year to pursue a professional dancing career. In the meantime, Stalter has qualified for and will be competing in the YMCA National Gymnastics Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina in June.

“Nationwide, there’s a lot of people reaching out to her because she will be competing this routine at Nationals,” Robinson said. “So she has a lot of following waiting to see this routine.”

“I’m very blessed to be able to do all the things I’ve been able to do in my time in gymnastics,” Stalter said, “and to, honestly, just love what you do and enjoy your team and your coaches and build great relationships with them, because that’s really what made this more special than anything.”

Parents Jennis and Wendy Stalter said they are proud of Lilly.

“I’m just really thankful,” mother Wendy said, adding Lilly had recovered from an injury only a couple years earlier, the accomplishment almost making it worth it. “She just continues to be hopeful.”