Arcury sisters lead South girls gymnastics
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Williamsville South senior Kristina Arcury hopes to win her first Section VI all-around title since 2004 this season. File photo

Despite having only nine girls, Williamsville South gymnastics coach Kurt Stumpf thinks the Lady Billies should have a good season.

That's because Stumpf returns two of the best gymnasts in Section VI - Kristina and Kailyn Arcury.

As a junior, Kristina Arcury took fourth in all-around at last year's Section VI Championships and would have taken first, had she not slipped up on the balance beam, said coach Stumpf. She went on to the New York State Championships where she shared first place honors on beam with Lancaster's Christine Del Prince. She also took third on floor exercise and fifth on vault. Arcury won the section all-around title in 2004.

As a seventh grader, Kailyn Arcury took fourth on bars at sectionals to qualify for the New York State Championships where she took tenth.

Kristina Arcury is a co-captain with coach Stumpf's daughter, Marisa, a senior all-around gymnast.

"The girls that finished ahead of her last year - Hamburg's Danielle Hover, Lewiston Porter's Deanna Favero, and Lancaster's Christine Del Prince - graduated so she should be, if not one of the top gymnasts, the top gymnast in the area," said coach Stumpf of Kristina Arcury.

What makes Kristina Arcury stand out is her work ethic.

"She has a drive," said coach Stumpf. "She seldom misses a practice."

Coach Stumpf said Kristina Arcury wants to get a scholarship for gymnastics in college but did not want to say which schools she is looking at.

Other returning gymnasts for South include eighth graders Cassidy Strong (vault, floor, bars), Kristina Haffa (vault, bars) and Haley Harris (vault, bars).

New to the team are sophomore Sarah Steffan and seventh graders Rachael Utech and Michaela Stumpf, all-around competitors. Coach Stumpf expects Utech and Michaela Stumpf to be big contributors.

South finished 4-2 during last year's regular season and fourth at sectionals last year. Coach Stumpf is looking for another good season.

"I expect us to be first or second in the division," said coach Stumpf. "Sectionals can be hit or miss. We're really going to have to be perfect and have other teams like Lancaster make mistakes for us to win because we don't have the depth."
South 2007 Schedule
10-3 East, Ken. West ........ 5 p.m.
10-9 at Frontier w/Hamburg 5 p.m.
10-16 at Clarence w/Lancaster 5
p.m.

10-18 North, Lewiston-Porter .. 5
p.m.
10-25 Amherst, Sweet Home 5 p.m.
10-27 at Halloween Invite (Hamburg
Middle School) ........... TBA
11-3 at Section VI Championships
(Will. North)........................... TBA
e-mail: pnagy@beenews.com