Larock lifts Prospect at Conant
Prospect coach Randy Smith was effusive in his praise of senior Maddie Larock, and who could blame him after her performance Saturday at the Conant girls gymnastics invitational?
Larock, in a tremendous effort, helped lead the Knights to an upset win and the first place trophy in the 36th annual meet in Hoffman Estates.
The senior finished second on the uneven parallel bars event and tied for second on balance beam as Prospect (108.52) edged Carmel (108.45) for the title.
"Maddie eats, sleeps and breathes gymnastics," said Smith. "She's a perfectionist, and she's one of the hardest workers I've ever seen in the gym. She's a high-caliber player with a lot of talent."
Olivia Gonzalez of the Knights took second on floor exercise to assist in win, made all much sweeter considering Prospect was missing three gymnasts at the event - one due to injury and two due to personal commitments.
"I'm extremely happy and extremely pleased with this victory," said Smith, "especially considering all the good teams that were here today."
Geneva placed third in the team event, while Wheaton Warrenville co-op was fourth.
"We were able to play some of the younger girls today," said Smith, and we pulled some freshman up to get them experience in a high-pressure event."
By far the top individual performance at Conant Saturday came from Warren senior Emily Basara.
Basara won the balance beam event with a 9.65, the vault with a 9.75, and the uneven parallel bars (9.65) enroute to first place in the all-around.
It's the seniors' first high school season after playing her first three years with club, and she's making the most of it.
"I was looking for something different this year," said the Northern Illinois-bound Basara of competing in prep gymnastics instead of club.
"My focus is competing for our team, having fun, and getting my name out there."
Jasminka Sabic from Hoffman Estates finished 3rd in the floor exercise and fifth in the all-around, and could have placed much higher except for a mishap in the dismount on the bars.
Still, Sabic was happy with her finish in the floor.
"I stuck all my passes," said the senior.
Warren as a team finished fifth at the invite, while Lincoln Way Co Op was sixth.
Other individual scores of note included a win in the floor exercise by Carmel's Sammi Lococo with a 9.70, and a second-place overall placement by Prospect's Olivia Gonzaez.
Gonzalez took 3rd in the vault at 9.6 and fifth in the bars at 8.90, leading the Knights to an inspiring day despite being short-handed.
"All in all I'm pretty happy with our performance," said Larock. "We have some things to clean up as the season goes along, and we've got to keep throwing in new things and getting used to the competition early in the season."
Lenna Klein of Wheaton Warrenville Co-op was second in balance beam while Lococo took fourth.
Sarah DeStefano of Glenbard West finished third in the parallel bars, while in the floor exercise Julie Galo of Wheaton took third, followed by Grace Ginsberg of Geneva, Larock and Bridget Shanahan of host Conant.
After the meet, Shanahan talked about her performance and her choice of music in the floor.
"I picked the Batman/Joker theme," said Shanahan. "It's high intensity. I watched it on You Tube and saw myself performing a floor routine to it.
"It's a powerful piece of music," added Shanahan. "I came out today in the zone."
at Hersey: Glenbard North hit a team score of 137.050 to take top honors in the Michael Meyer Memorial Candy Cane Invite, edging second-place Mundelein (136.950).
The host Huskies were third at 135.975, followed by Maine South (133.075) and Buffalo Grove (130.400).
Naperville North's Michaela Robert won the all-around with 37.35, ahead of Taylor Shanahan of Mundelein (36.7) and Alysa Zurlo of Hersey (36.525).
Event champions were Robert on uneven parallel bars (9.6) and floor exercise (9.6), Casey Boksha of Addison Trail on balance beam (9.15) and Allison Wahrman of Glenbard North on vault (9.65).
Buffalo Grove's top finishes came from Diandra Duenser on floor exercise (third, 9.35) and all-around (sixth, 35.85).