Stevenson's Hoersten third in state all-around

After playing a huge role in Stevenson's first boys gymnastics team championship in six years Friday night, Patriots teammates Lukasz Adamczyk and Alex Hoersten set out to claim the all-around title Saturday afternoon at Lincoln-Way East in Frankfort.

Both Adamczyk and Hoersten had good showings in the pressure-packed 59th annual state meet, but it was York senior Caleb Strejc who captured the all-around crown with 55.4 points, barely edging freshman runner-up Matt Foster of Addison Trail with 55.35 points.

Hoersten had only competed in the all-around at conference and sectionals this season as he was still recovering from two surgeries on his left wrist after a major injury on high bar last year.

But the junior standout proved he was more than ready for prime time as he captured third place with 54.85 points (9.14 average) in his first appearance on the big stage.

"I'm pretty happy right now and I did my routines well against some good competition today," said Hoersten, who qualified for the finals in four events. "I've been training all year for this and to compete this well after the team competition last night, I thought I did pretty well."

After scoring 44.35 points in his first five events, Adamczyk closed out his meet strong with a 9.3 on floor exercise - but he finished seventh in the final all-around standings.

"I could have done better, but it was a good meet," said Adamczyk, who hit a 9.45 on his parallel bars routine. "My best event today was parallel bars, and I felt most confident on that event."

Stevenson's "terrific trio" proved to be outstanding, as junior Mike Wilner contributed a 12th-place effort with 53.3 points.

Conant's dynamic duo of senior Anthony Crivolio (52.25) and freshman Joey Mauk (52.20) were not far behind Wilner, placing 14th and 15th, respectively. The Cougars brought home the third-place team trophy Friday night.

"I thought I did well, I hit what I needed to hit and I was happy with what I did today," said Crivolio, who was named senior gymnast of the year.

"I thought I did well, but I could have done better," said Mauk, who admitted he had a case of the butterflies. "It's a lot more nervewracking when you have to compete for your team, but this is individual so you are not hurting your team."

Mundelein junior Scott Marthinsen placed 17th in the all-around with 50.95 points to outdistance Libertyville junior Craig Breckenridge (50.8) in an 18th-place tie. Conant's Steve Rink (50.0) placed 21st and Palatine's Mike Abram (49.45) was 24th. Stevenson's Scott Seigel and Fremd's Brandon Trostrud placed 27th and 28th, respectively.

Rolling Meadows senior pommel horse specialist John Scallon led all competitors in the preliminary round with a first-place 9.75 score. Barrington senior Kellen O'Connor advanced to the state finals on floor exercise for the fourth straight year, tying for fourth in the prelims with a 9.45.

Trostrud qualified for the finals on parallel bars with an eighth-place 9.3, and Mauk was ninth with 9.25. Prospect's Jim Brault (9.1) tied for fifth to advance to the finals on horizontal bar.