Saxons’ Shimon makes most of her last chance

Schaumburg senior Brooke Shimon was the last one to perform on the balance beam at the IHSA state girls gymnastics finals Saturday — and by that time the Saxons had already secured their first state trophy with a third-place finish.

But there was still a bit of unfinished business for Shimon and the Saxons.

Shimon entered Schaumburg with plenty of potential, but two elbow surgeries and a broken ankle detoured her route to state glory.

Saturday’s beam routine offered Shimon one last chance to secure a coveted individual state medal — and the senior did n0t disappoint.

Shimon, who had hit a 9.2 in Friday’s beam preliminaries, nailed a flip-flop full back on her dismount to earn a 9.55 and the third-place medal.

“Pretty awesome,” Shimon said. “It was icing on the cake.”

Shimon had entered the state meet with a twisted left ankle, which was pretty swollen after two days of competition.

“It was so Brooke,” said Saxons coach Jami Stilling. “Perfect way to end her high school career, especially with an injured ankle, she was still able to get up and suck it up.”

Shimon brought much more to the table than just her skills. She is an honor roll student and has been the inspirational leader of the Saxons.

“Our team wouldn’t be anywhere near where we are without Brooke,” Stilling said. “They are a talented group of girls, and she has forced them to become better gymnasts, better students and better people.”

“She’s not afraid to challenge her teammates, and they all respect her because of that. Those are things you can’t teach someone.”

Miller gets a grip:

Schaumburg junior Ashley Miller got a grip on things this season.

As a sophomore, Miller qualified for the state finals on the uneven parallel bars. But after performing a flawless routine, she lost her grip and slipped on her dismount, finishing 11th.

After a slow start to her junior season, Miller found her groove — capping the season with two individual state medals that included a third place on bars.

Miller showed her toughness this season by overcoming a back injury. She also hyperextended her knee during the regional and tweaked her right knee before the sectional.

The junior won her second consecutive Mid-Suburban League all-around title this season and finished third in the state all-around and sixth on beam. Miller will enter the 2011-12 season as one of the top returning gymnasts.

“She is one of the fiercest competitors,” Stilling said. “She wants to win more than anyone and puts a lot of pressure on herself, but not to the point where it destroys her.”

Fremd pulls it together:

The regular season was real grind for Fremd, but the Vikings put things together in the state series.

Senior Maegan Wochinski took fifth on bars (9.55) and senior Kelsey Onesto added a seventh on beam (9.15).

Fremd will lose three seniors including Alyssia Van Duch, whose season was wiped out in early December because of a torn ACL.

But the Viking have plenty of reason to be optimistic next year.

Juniors Elizabeth and Stephanie Uhrich and sophomores Stephanie Gallo, Emily Pinderski and Anna Johnson all gained state experience this season.

Add sophomore Shannon LeMajeur and freshman Christine Jensen, who both are hoping to come back from injuries, and the Vikings have a solid nucleus to continue their unprecedented quest of a 21st state appearance.

Barrington’s Marsella finishes strong:

Senior Lexi Marsella ended her junior year on the sidelines watching the state meet after breaking her ankle three days before sectionals.

But Marsella came back to qualify on floor exercise. She went second in Friday’s preliminaries and hit a 9.0 with a revised routine that included two new passes added just before state.

“Warm-ups didn’t go as planned, so for me to hit the routine was huge,” said Marsella, who helped lead the Fillies to a season-best 139.45 at the Lake Forest regional. “As a team we came in with high expectations, and in the end this year was amazing, the team came together so well.”

Kuksuk has Palatine hopeful:

Palatine engineered quite a run from 2004-08. The Pirate qualified for state four out of five years, taking third in 2006 and second in 2007.

Palatine is looking to start another run beginning next year, and sophomore Nicole Kuksuk will be a big part of it.

Kuksuk qualified for the second consecutive year to the state meet. The sophomore recovered from a poor dismount on the beam to nail a splendid floor routine where she finished 14th in Friday’s preliminaries.

Seniors Nicole Barba, who was a state qualifier on beam, and Alyssa Alden laid a solid foundation that helped Palatine hit a season-best 143.625 at the Stevenson sectional.

Kuksuk, junior Autumn Petersen and sophomores Abby Alden and Megan Hedstrom are hoping to pick up where the Pirates left off.

“It sets us up for next year,” said Palatine coach Terry Theobald. “We’re pointed in the right direction and I think we’ll offer a few surprises.”

Scala, Rafferty, Bibel make grand entrance:

Prospect’s Gianna Scala, Elk Grove’s Amelia Rafferty and Conant’s Brie Bibel all capped standout freshman seasons by qualifying for the state meet.

Rafferty (9.2) and Scala (9.175) finished 21st and 23rd in Friday’s floor preliminaries, while Bibel offered glimpses of her potential in the all-around.

Final rotation:

Stevenson senior Caitlin Pagano was honored by the Illinois Girls Gymnastics Coaches Association as the senior gymnast of the year. ... Stevenson coach Judy Harwood was elected into Gymnastics Hall of Fame. ... Congratulations to Conant coach Lorel Cunningham and husband Jordan on the birth of their daughter Cora, who was born on January 14th. ... Schaumburg senior Brooke Shimon and junior Ashley Miller will be competing for Team Illinois at the national meet in May.