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SJM_WinterAthletes_1223FINAL_Reg4 . qxp_Feature 12 / 18 / 23 5 : 20 PM Page 6 plays soccer and volleyball . We have a couple of classes to - gether , which is fun because we can work on assignments Hannah Byrd - Leitner together if we need to . Moorestown track SJM : Do you have any particular goals for this year ? SJM : How do you get ready for a big meet ? Still just a junior , Byrd - Leitner has already HBL : I’m definitely looking to get some PRs as I’m looking Any certain rituals ? at colleges , because I hope to go Division I . HBL : Nothing too serious . Meets are very mental , established herself as one of the top pole so I focus on breathing and not taking things too fast . vaulters in the state . Last year during indoor SJM : What’s the tallest height you’ve ever cleared ? You can’t get ahead of yourself , because then you’ll season , she placed fifth at sectionals , states HBL : My PR is [ 12 - 0 , set this indoor season ] . I’m hoping to have confidence issues . and the Meet of Champions ( MOC ) , and last get . . . maybe 12 - 6 in outdoor . spring she cleared 11 feet , 6 inches at the outdoor MOC to take ninth . She has set high SJM : What are the main differences between indoor goals for herself as an upperclassman . and outdoor season for a pole vaulter ? HBL : Well , we practice outside for both , so it’s very cold South Jersey Magazine : The pole vault is certainly and windy during the winter and it’s definitely more diffi - not an event that is easy to pick up . How did you get cult to train . So I think I like outdoor better , but both sea - started ? sons are great . The indoor meets are very different because Hannah Byrd - Leitner : It definitely has a lot to do with there are no wind conditions , it’s not raining and the sun’s gymnastics — the body awareness and the strength . It not out , so it’s more stable . kind of transfers over to the same muscles you use in pole vault , so it’s very common for a gymnast to also become a SJM : What do you like about going to school at pole vaulter . Moorestown ? HBL : The community is great and I love all of my team - SJM : So you grew up doing gymnastics and still do mates . I used to live in Collingswood and I moved to that now ? Moorestown in fourth grade . It was a pretty easy change . HBL : Yes . I actually didn’t start gymnastics at a young age compared to other people . I was maybe 9 years old when I SJM : What do you do for fun outside sports ? started . HBL : I like to hang out with family and friends . I have three brothers so it’s definitely different compared to other SJM : Did those gymnastic skills help you master the families . They’re older but I do have a twin as well . pole vault pretty quickly ? HBL : It was definitely a lot easier to learn , but the skills SJM : Do you and your twin brother get along ? were still difficult to do in the first place . It takes bravery . I HBL : We’re pretty close , but when we were younger we was nervous at first , but it’s one of my favorite things to do had arguments all the time . His name is Charlie and he now , so I’m glad I started . SOUTH JERSEY MAGAZINE volume 20 issue 9 SouthJerseyMagazine.com | 31

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SJM_WinterAthletes_1223FINAL_Reg4 . qxp_Feature 12 / 18 / 23 5 : 20 PM Page 7 Autumn Buttocovla Washington Township bowling SJM : Rolling a 300 would be nice , wouldn’t it ? Buttocovla , a senior , is coming off a strong junior AB : It would be very nice . My 259 wasn’t that far off . In the season in which she averaged a 531 series during third frame I got a nine , and then I got strikes all the way team matches , rolling a high game of 233 and a through until the last frame , where I got another nine . high series of 618 . She placed fifth at sectionals with a 571 series and advanced to the second SJM : What is it like competing at sectionals and states ? round of the state individual tournament . Is it nerve - wracking with all of those people there ? AB : No , because I do tournaments like that a lot and I’ve been South Jersey Magazine : Are you excited for your senior to Junior Gold Nationals two times . That was really scary , be - season ? I know you had a very good junior campaign . cause for everyone there , their only personality trait is just to Autumn Buttocovla : That was not very good . That wasn’t bowl . There are a lot of people better than me there , but for my best — I can do better , and I have done better . sectionals everybody is pretty much on the same level . Every - body who had scores around mine , I know them from leagues SJM : So what are your goals for this season ? and tournaments . AB : To do better at states , because in the second round I started doing terrible . Otherwise , I just want to keep my SJM : Do you have a favorite bowling alley around scores up . here ? AB : It used to be Westbrook [ in Brooklawn ] but the pinsetters SJM : How did you get interested in bowling in the first changed , so I don’t do as well there now . My favorite is prob - place ? ably Bowlero in Deptford . AB : My best friend went to a birthday party for it and he thought it was cool , so I got sucked into it from that . I was SJM : Do you know what you’re doing next year ? like 8 years old and that was it . AB : I want to bowl in college and my top two [ choices ] are Fairleigh [ Dickinson ] and Monmouth . SJM : What do you love about it ? AB : It’s fun and I get to improve , and I like hanging out with SJM : Do you know what you want to study in college ? my friends . I like being good at things and I’m good at it . AB : Environmental bio . [ I want to do ] anything in that field , really , but I want to be a conservationist or a wildlife rehabili - SJM : What is the highest game you’ve ever had ? tator . I have no idea how I got into that , but I just like being AB : I think it was 259 . There was a period of time last year outside and taking care of my animals . where every other week I was beating my high game . SJM : What would your advice be to a girl Cherry Hill West wrestling considering trying wrestling ? Tyson’s sophomore season was one for the AT : If you have the mental toughness and you really Ari Tyson ages , as she became just the sixth female want to do it , go for it . It’s a physically demanding sport , wrestler from South Jersey and the first from but you’ll most likely like it . It’s a good adrenaline rush Cherry Hill West to earn a state title , taking for me and when I’m done , I feel good . home the crown at 165 pounds . She also won her first region championship and finished SJM : Do you pay attention to the other standout 19 - 1 with 15 pins . It will be exciting to see wrestlers in your weight class , or just focus on what she does for an encore as a junior . yourself ? AT : No , I don’t . I don’t think it matters who’s in front of South Jersey Magazine : Last year was such a me , I just think my progress is what matters . Whether memorable one for you . What are your goals they’re experienced or not , or good or not , I don’t think it heading into 2024 ? matters much . At the end of the day , I have confidence in Ari Tyson : I just want to wrestle a little bit faster and myself . harder than last year and become a state champion again . SJM : How far would you like to take wrestling ? SJM : Can you describe the feeling of winning states ? Would you like to do it in college ? AT : I don’t know , to me it was just like winning any oth - AT : Yeah . I have a couple of schools I’m looking at : Feli - er match . It was exciting but I have two more to win , so I cian University in New Jersey and Stevens Point in Wis - can’t be that excited . consin . SJM : How did you first get interested in the sport ? SJM : What else do you do for fun ? AT : I was 4 or 5 and I saw my brother do it . I was inter - AT : I like cooking . I don’t really have [ a specialty ] , I just ested , so my mom said if there was a girl on the team I do it all . I cook for family and friends and I try experi - could do it , and there was . So I was put into it and I’ve menting for myself . done it [ ever since ] . SJM : You have a very nice and quiet demeanor . SJM : Do you believe the sport is growing in Do you flip a switch and get nasty once you take popularity with girls ? the mat ? AT : From what I’ve seen , yes . AT : I don’t think so , but I guess my coaches see it . SOUTH JERSEY MAGAZINE volume 20 issue 9 SouthJerseyMagazine.com 32 |

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