Prairie Ridge co-op hangs on at Lake Park

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The Prairie Ridge co-op team seemed to be in control of the Lake Park sectional Wednesday before a late charge by Fremd made things interesting.

Prairie Ridge led by 1.3 points after 2 rotations, and Fremd was looking a bit shaky.

But the Vikings made a late push on the bars and beam to put a scare into the Wolves.

Prairie Ridge survived, securing its first sectional title with 147.25 point, edging Fremd by .275 points.

Prairie Ridge automatically advances to the state meet, which will be held at Palatine High School Feb. 17-18.

Fremd will have to wait, but after taking second with 146.975 points, the Vikings look like a good bet to qualify for state with an at-large team berth.

The surprise of the night was Prospect. The Knights hit a season-best 145.05 points in taking third place and also put themselves in the mix for at-large qualification.

Palatine hit a season-high 141.35 in taking fourth place, followed by Conant (140.45) and Barrington (139.00).

Freshman Racheal Underwood, a Cary-Grove student, powered Prairie Ridge by taking first in the all-around (37.775), second on vault (9.625) and beam (9.45), fourth on floor (9.4) and tying for fourth on the bars (9.3).

“We really just focus on each event and don’t let the pressure get to us,” said Underwood. “I started off a bit slow tonight, but I was able to pick it up and I feel like I’m peaking at the right time.”

Freshman Riley Mahoney, also a Cary-Grove student, took first on vault (9.7) and added a third-place finish on floor (9.425), with senior Nikki Novak taking second on floor (9.45) and tying for third on the vault.

It turned out Prairie Ridge needed every point, as Fremd hit an amazing 37.60 on the bars, then finished the night with a 37.10 on the beam.

“We really rocked the bars and the beam,” said Fremd coach Tim Hamman of the Vikings’ surge. “It feels good finishing that strong, and they really turned it around after the first two events.”

Junior Shannon Lemajuer powered the Vikings’ attack by taking fourth in the all-around (37.175) and second on the bars (9.45). The junior also hit on the vault (9.4), beam (9.15), and floor (9.175) in a solid performance.

“It feels amazing,” said Lemajuer. “We really felt it on bars — once the first girl hit, the energy kept going.”

Junior Stephanie Gallo ignited the Vikings’ attack on bars by winning with a 9.625. Freshman Sydney Plichta tied for fourth (9.3), with senior Stephanie Uhrich and junior Emily Pinderski tying for sixth at 9.225.

Plichta helped the Vikings finish strong with a victory on beam (9.575).

“It felt really good to be able to hit on bars,” said Gallo, “and I think it gave our team the confidence it needed to finish how we did.”

Sophomore Gianna Scala took second in the all-around (37.45), added a first on the floor (9.625) and tied for third on beam (9.375) help boost Prospect.

“I think we started off well, and it gave us a lot of confidence,” said Scala. “I knew if I wanted to help my team I needed to hit. I was nervous, but maybe it helped.”

Senior Lauren Johnson added a third-place finish for the Knights on the bars (9.375).

“We knew the whole season we could get this score,” said Prospect coach Randy Smith, “We just needed everyone to hit on the same night, and we picked a good night to do it.”

St. Edward junior Abby Madden took third in the all-around (37.20). She tied for third on the beam (9.375) and added a fifth-place finish on vault (9.525). Senior Jordyn Madden also had a solid night, taking sixth place on vault (9.45).

“I wasn’t really expecting that,” Abby Madden said. “I didn’t start off real well, but beam gave me a lot of confidence. Coming in I knew it was a really hard sectional, so I’m very happy with how I did.”

Jacobs freshman Allison Riedel tied for third on the vault (9.6) and qualified for her first state meet.

Junior Abby Alden took fifth on the beam (9.325) and junior Nicole Kuksuk tied for 8th in all around (36.475), adding a 9.4 on the vault and a 9.3 on the floor to help power Palatine.

“We just wanted to pull everything together,” said Kuksuk. “It would have been great to peak even sooner, but we’re happy with finishing strong.”

Conant sophomore Bri Bibel took fifth in the all-around (37.025) in leading Conant to a season-best score.

Bibel was solid from start to finish, hitting on the vault (9.4), bars (9.15), beam (9.3), and floor (9.175).

“I just took event by event, and I guess it worked today,” said Bibel who has been dealing with a back injury all season. “It’s been a tough season, but I’ve been doing the best to my ability and it has been working.”