Fremd wins first matchup with Barrington

Fremd and Barrington renewed a bit of a growing rivalry on Thursday night.

Last year the Vikings and Fillies finished 1-2 in the Mid-Suburban League. Soon after, Fremd was third at the state meet, followed by the Fillies in fourth.

This season, Fremd (147.55) and Barrington (145.25) have hit the second- and third-best scores in state behind Prairie Ridge (148.0).

On a cold Thursday, the Vikings and Fillies met for the first of a potential four meetings, provided both teams advance to another state finals appearance.

Fremd took round one, scoring a 144.9-142.6 Mid-Suburban League West triangular victory at Barrington. Hoffman Estates finished third with 121.75 points.

Both Fremd and Barrington were a bit sluggish to start the meet after an extended layoff, but senior Christine Radochonski (9.45) and junior Carly DeFilippo (9.40) went 1-2 on the floor to ignitie a strong finish for the Vikings.

"As a team we know how to finish," said DeFilippo who also took second in the all-around (36.3), tied for first on the vault (9.4) and added a third-place finish on beam (8.8). "I definitely wanted to pick it up for my team, we all did. I think we had a nice finish after a rough start."

The Vikings rolled through the vault with Radochonksi tying for first (9.4) and with sophomore Kailyn Bryk (9.3) and junior Gab Lytle (9.25) going 4-5.

Then senior Emily Neal (9.4) and senior Sydney Plichta (9.3) capped the night by going 1-3 on bars.

"We started to feed off the team's energy," said Radochonski. "On vault we were ready to hit."

Fremd also got a peek at Barrington a team that they are sure to see again, with plenty at stake.

"It's always nice having healthy competition," said Radochonski, who added a third-place finish in the all-around (36.05). "It pushes us to work harder. Win or lose, it fuels our fire."

Barrington is also starting to fan the flames. Junior Abby Hasanov propelled the Fillies' attack on Thursday, taking first in the all-around (36.40), tying for first on vault (9.4) and bars (9.4) and adding a fourth-place finish on floor (9.3).

"We wanted to come into this meet and give it our all and show (Fremd) what we got," said Hasanov, who along with her teammates hadn't competed since Dec. 10. "There is still room for improvement and we're really excited for what's to come."

Senior Jessica Lee (9.2) and junior Molly Blanke (9.1) came up big on beam, going 1-2, with senior Tara Schumann (9.35) helping the Fillies finish strong with a third-place finish on floor.

"We just need to keep working on our routines and do what we need to do to get to state," said Blanke, who added a fourth place finish in the all-around (35.45). "Both teams motivate each other and we push each other to do better."

And both the Vikings and Fillies are hoping that leads them to straight to the state podium.

Senior Jasminka Sabic anchored Hofffman Estates' attack by taking fifth in the all-around (33.95).

"She is definitely our most valuable player and she is working toward the state series," said Hoffman Estates coach Natalie Tindle. "She worked all summer and came in strong this year."

Schaumburg steps up: Freshman Mikayla Vogt won vault (9.25) and floor exercise and junior Alyssa Kiszka won balance beam (8.9) and the all-around (34.35) to help the host Saxons score 139.4 to best Conant (128.75) and Hersey (121.35) in Mid-Suburban League girls gymnastics on Thursday.

Jessica Muza, a junior, won the uneven parallel bars (8.8), and Schaumburg junior Caiti Poland was second on bars (8.7) and third on vault (8.7) and floor (8.95).

Hersey sophomore Ali Heidrich placed third in the all-around (33.55) and tied for third on bars (8.65) with freshman teammate Mackenzie Kamysz.

Conant's top event was floor exercise, where seniors Gina Massa (8.85) and Bridget Shanahan (8.80) placed fourth and fifth.