Zurlo, Hersey a big hit as Prairie Ridge rolls to regional title

Hersey's girls gymnastics team and junior Alysa Zurlo made the most of their last chance on Thursday night while performing in their own regional meet.

With an at-large berth at the Lake Park sectional on the line, the Huskies needed a big beam series in its last rotation.

Zurlo delivered.

She took second place on the beam (with a 9.2). That performance along with her teammates' propelled Hersey to a third-place finish with 138.925 points.

More importantly, the Huskies edged out Schaumburg for the final at-large bid in the Lake Park sectional by a mere .450 points.

"We weren't very happy with our floor performance, but we still had beam," said Zurlo of the Huskies' final event, on which they hit 35.45 as a team. "We still had a chance and we pulled it together and it paid off."

Prairie Ridge Co-op continued to show why it is considered the favorite to win state as it stormed to the Hersey regional title in Arlington Heights with an eye-opening 149.05.

Prairie Ridge Co-op joined Prospect, Fremd and Barrington as automatic qualifiers at Lake Park sectional on Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m.

Maine South took second with 139.30 points and qualified with Hersey for one of the two at-large bids. Fenton (109.90) took fourth place, followed by Maine East (97.625).

Hersey's bid for a sectional spot was in doubt until the end.

But the Huskies responded on beam, with freshman Mackenzie Kamysz (9.15) tying for third and sophomore Allie Heidrich (9.05) adding a fifth-place finish.

"That's the one event I wanted my girls to hit," said Hersey coach Shannon Barrett, "and they definitely came through."

Hersey has been up and down with its scores all season. The Huskies dropped to a season-low 121.35 in early January.

But the return of Zurlo and sophomore Maggie Barton definitely gave the Huskies the lift they needed. They hit for a season-best 139.2 for a fourth-place finish at the Mid-Suburban League meet last Friday.

Hersey continued to roll on Thursday anchored by Zurlo, who took fifth in the all-around (35.275).

"You don't want to let yourself down or your team down," said Zurlo who returned from a hip flexor injury in mid-January. "I just wanted to go out there and add something for the team."

Kamysz and Heidrich held down the attack while the Huskies dealt with their injuries, and the two came through in the clutch on Thursday.

"It's big deal to make it to sectionals," said Kamysz who added a sixth-place finish in the all-around (34.65). "We knew we had to focus on beam and focus on ourselves."

Senior Rachael Underwood, who attends Cary-Grove, set the tone for Prairie Ridge Co-op.

She took first on three of the four individual events in taking first in the all-around (38.35). Underwood started the night by taking first on the vault (9.675).

She added a first on bars (9.675) and had a big save in taking first on beam (9.5) before capping her night with a second-place finish on floor (9.4).

"Rachael is Rachael - she is going to bring us a 38.5 to 39 in the all-around," said Prairie Ridge Co-op coach Lee Battaglia of his star senior who has earned six state medals, including a first-place finish on vault at last season's state meet.

Sophomore Nikki Baars (36.975) and junior Maddie Solka (36.75), both Cary-Grove students, kept things rolling for the Wolves by going 2-3 in the all-around. Solka added a first-place finish on floor (9.475).

Prairie Ridge Co-op took a big hit in early January when senior Riley Mahoney was lost for the season with torn left ACL.

But the Wolves have not lost a beat, hitting the top score in the state, 149.95, in late January.

The Wolves kept things rolling on Thursday by sweeping the top five spots on vault and bars, and the top four spots on floor.

They have won three consecutive state trophies including back-to-back second place finishes the past two years.

So there's not much else to prove - or is there?

"Well, getting the state title would be the ultimate goal for us," Underwood said. "We just have to focus on hitting our routines."

The Wolves moved a step closer to that ultimate goal on Thursday.