Geneva in position for 1st state trophy
Geneva made history on Friday night.
But the Vikings will have to wait until late Saturday to determine whether they take home a second or third place trophy from the IHSA state girls gymnastics championships at Palatine.
Prairie Ridge co-op all but wrapped up the team title with a 149.35. The Vikings haven't been mathematically eliminated, but catching Prairie Ridge is unrealistic. Holding onto second place though, is very realistic. They currently lead Fremd for second place, 146.75 to 146.625. and will have several chances to boost their team score during Saturday's individual championships.
"We're happy with where we're at in the standings and this is school history," Geneva coach Kim Hostman said. "Obviously, we knew Prairie Ridge was a stronger team on bars then we were, so we had to make up points by sticking landings and performing as well as we could all the way through, and we hit four on each event and went 5-for-5 on some."
Claire Ginsberg hit her vault like she's never hit it before, establishing a school record with a 9.825 for her newly added tsuk half front.
"I'd stuck it in practice, but not in a meet, so that was an awesome time to stick it," she said. "I'm just very excited that I was able to help be a part of school history. I'm really proud of how my team came together and really looking forward to (Saturday)."
The top 10 scores in each of the four events advances to the individual championships. Ginsberg also advanced on floor with a 9.6 and bars with a 9.275.
She unfortunately fell twice on beam, which reduced her score to an 8.225 and took her out of contention for the all-around title. Ginsberg, who was last year's all-around champion, settled for 10th place with a 36.925.
"It was a little disappointing that she didn't go back-to-back, but she's still has some years to come," Hostman said. "And she broke another school record and has a chance to compete three more times (on Saturday)."
Sophomore Julia Grootens scored a 9.175 on beam and senior Grace Ginsberg added a 9.1 on beam to also extend their seasons one more day.
"When I got off beam, I thought it was my last event in my last gymnastics meet, and then my coach said I made it," Grace Ginsberg said. "It's pretty cool to make it."
The Vikings have taken fifth place the past two seasons, which were also the first two times the program has advanced this far. Now they'll undoubtedly be taking home a trophy.
"We came in and did what we do in practice," Grace Ginsberg said. "I couldn't ask for anything more from my teammates. It was really fun to watch and a really good way to finish."
The Vikings will have five chances to boost their score on Saturday while Fremd will only have three opportunities, but the distance between the two teams is a measly 0.125.
St. Charles co-op freshman Emma Grace Redmond-Mattucci scored a 9.175 in the floor exercise, while Batavia junior Megan McGee scored an 8.775 on floor. Both were competing in the state meet for the first time.
"She had been sick all week so she really hadn't tumbled for a few days," Batavia coach Taryn Boyce said. "It was a good experience for her to get here though."