Scouting DuPage County boys gymnastics
Top local teams: Downers Grove South, Glenbard West, Naperville Central, Naperville North, Wheaton Warrenville co-op.
Top gymnasts: Evan Baird (Downers Grove South, jr., all-around), Sam Bode (York, sr., all-around), Lucas Cooperman (Wheaton co-op, jr., all-around), Ryan Durkin (Naperville Central, jr., all-around), Oscar Garza (Fenton, sr., all-around), Brock Herion (Downers Grove South, so., all-around), Qarin Johnnic (Wheaton co-op, sr., floor, high bar, parallel bars, still rings, vault), Ryan Leahy (Hinsdale Central, so., all-around), Brandon Louise (Naperville North, sr., all-around), Michael Kudelka (Downers Grove North, so., all-around), Eric Samuta (Glenbard West, so., all-around), Adrian Siaw (Hinsdale South, sr., all-around), Ben Szot (Wheaton co-op, sr., all-around), Keawe Winstead (Willowbrook, sr., all-around).
Outlook: Addison Trail will showcase a lot of talent on its floor and vault teams but lacks depth on the other four events. The Blazers have four returning state qualifiers, including Daniel Baeza and Marcus Rias on vault, R.J. Infusino on still rings and Alfredo Torres on floor. "I expect to make a run at the conference championship this year and qualify around five gymnasts for the state competition on multiple events," Blazers coach Mike Galfi said.
Downers Grove North begins life without Strah Sopcic. The Trojans do have senior Jeremy Guinn, a state-qualifier on the pommel horse, returning, along with fellow senior specialists, Jim Gritis and Jacob Graham and junior Kevin Van Saten. Look for sophomore newcomer Michael Kudelka to make an impact as an all-arounder.
Downers Grove South should be a lot of fun to watch, but you likely won't see the Mustangs at their best until sophomore all-arounder Brock Herion is fully healed from a shoulder injury. He qualified for state in three events last season, as did junior Evan Baird. They'll anchor the team along with senior all-arounder Carlos Garcia. "We have veteran event specialists who are training diligently to fill in our varsity roster," Mustangs coach Dan Fenton said. "It will be a steady start and by midseason with the return of Brock from injury, and along with specialists' mastery of individual events, we look to be considered among the top contenders in our conference and at state."
Fenton is going to rely heavily on seniors Oscar Garza, Michael Parks and Julio Ortiz. "Oscar's a two-time state qualifier and now a senior, so hopefully he can get to state again," Bison coach Paula Parat said. "We don't have much varsity experience this year except for those three, but sophomore Ricardo Torres is someone who is going to jump between varsity and JV because he's a specialist on pommel horse and still learning all-around."
Glenbard East will truly look to put up a team score with a big mix of specialists, many of whom are seniors. "We will have to work hard on (still) rings and high bar to improve our overall team score," Rams coach Joon Yun said. "I hope that we can score high 120s, and getting 130-plus points is our team's goal for this year." Sophomore Avery Roy is a newcomer who will contribute on as many as four events, while seniors Mike McGowan and Kobe Mejia appear to be their best tumblers who will vie for state berths.
Glenbard North likely won't turn many heads this spring, but that doesn't mean the Panthers won't be able to achieve their team goals while celebrating the sport. "We are a young team with a small varsity comprised mostly of juniors, a sophomore and two seniors," Panthers coach Michael Crissie said. "Nothing would make me happier than these guys continuing to enjoy the sport and reach the upper-level goals we've set together." Asim Zaidi and Jesus Flores are the Panthers' lone seniors, while juniors Luke Meister, Mason Morgan and Joshua Garrison also return.
Glenbard South's long-time coach, Steve Young, retired and standout Eugene Boguslavsky, who finished ninth in the state in the all-around, graduated. The Raiders also lost state qualifying specialists Dylan Bihun and Mike Scholl, who both graduated. Taking over for young Young is Lee Wood, who also coaches the girls team. "We knew with Eugene graduating that this was going to be a season of getting our tricks back up to par and finding a way to have other scores start helping," Wood said. Seniors Eric McGovern and Jimmy Glowacki and junior Neil Livingston will lead the Raiders.
Glenbard West will look to return to state again, but the Hilltoppers will have to overcome some crucial losses due to graduation, including Joey Mandarino, who was equally impressive as a team leader as he was on still rings. Sophomore Max Diab, who took seventh in the all-around last spring, opted not to return. The cupboard is far from bare though, with sophomore all-arounder Eric Samuta returning, along with junior Adam Samuta and sophomore Paul Bonokollie, among others. There also is a diverse mix of junior newcomers and sophomore Timmy Le.
Hinsdale Central has a dynamite sophomore in Ryan Leahy returning to lead a young squad. Leahy was a state qualifier in the all-around and four events last year, while junior Chris Kujalowicz, who qualified on high bar, also returns. "We have a young team and expect to be in top form toward the end of the season and work hard to be one of the eight teams at state, in our own gym," Red Devils coach Mark Wanner said. In order for that to happen, sophomores Nick Altandush, Zhiyi Zhu and Zishuo Wang will need to put up big scores.
Hinsdale South welcomes back senior Adrian Siaw, who placed sixth in the state on floor last May. He joins Jack O'Donnell and Kwame Lipscomb as the team's returning all-arounders. The team has a handful of upperclassmen who are new to the team, including senior all-arounder, Moody Hamden and junior all-arounder, Dawson Morford. "We expect a tough and competitive battle within the conference," Hornets coach Jarrod Amolsch said. "We would like to get many more athletes to join Adrian Siaw at the state meet this year."
Lake Park will look for a big season from senior Dakota Jones. "He's one of our standout seniors, so we're looking for big things from him," Lancers coach Anthony Avella said. "We've got about six seniors this year and then Luke Badger, who's a sophomore, he impressed us a lot last season and we saw some improvement over the summer." The Lancers are once again one of the earliest starters; they were scheduled to open with a dual at Hinsdale South on Wednesday.
Naperville Central topped out at 141.80 last year, just falling short of advancing to state as a team. The Redhawks should be very competitive again this spring and might have what it takes to get to Hinsdale Central for the state finals. Losing Dom DelGrosso to graduation will be a big loss, but junior all-arounder Ryan Durkin returns to lead the team. Senior specialists Cameron Baumgartner, Joe Bajek and Jeff Jung, junior Sean Piggott and sophomore Charles Narawa also return, while newcomer Karl Jungquist hopefully will make an impact. "We have a positive outlook on doing very well," Redhawks coach Glen Reimers said. "We will be trying to get to state as a team and I think we can. The first meet (John Burkel Invite at Niles West, March 14) will be a good indicator."
Naperville North returns three state qualifiers while welcoming freshman all-arounder Ethan Soto, younger brother of former standout Josh Soto, now competing at UIC. "We will be better than last year if everyone stays healthy," Huskies coach Brad Foerch said. "Our goal is to score consistently in the 140s and contend for a conference title." All-arounder Brandon Louise and specialists Miko Matz and Yudai Okabe will look to lead the Huskies, while returning senior specialists Allen Peng and Grant Swalwell will look to finish on an upswing.
Wheaton Warrenville co-op will attempt to accomplish something that was only done once, way back when Richard Nixon was President of the United States - win four consecutive boys gymnastics state titles. Hinsdale Central is the only program to do it, 1970-73. In order to four-peat, Wheaton Warrenville is going to need all-arounders Lucas Cooperman and Ben Szot to lead the way and for several specialists to step up. The team lost six state qualifiers from last year's team, including two of the top gymnasts in the state in David MacDonald and Ethan Sansone. Piecing together the team score should be fun to watch as Adam DeCrane, Cory Drummond, Qarin Johnnic and Austin Tate, among others, will play crucial roles. Still, the graduating losses are big ones and more than any of its two prior state champion teams ever lost, so it's imperative these guys to step up and deliver.
Willowbrook's biggest two questions are whether senior all-arounder Keawe Winstead can stay healthy, and if so, can senior Bret Golz, junior Dillan Jones, sophomore Jeremiah Lewis, freshman Adam Sousa, among others, combine for a strong second and third team score to make the team competitive. "In just the first week our veterans have bonded very well with our newcomers," Willowbrook coach John Wronkiewicz said. "There is a great sense of unity amongst the team, and they have adopted the slogan, 'One team, one family.'"
York is in rebuilding mode but should get a memorable final season from Sam Bode who is finishing up a very good gymnastics tenure. Junior all-arounder James Foreman also returns, while a trio of freshmen newcomers, including Jake Anderson, John Gill and Kelvin Stevens will be asked to contribute right way. "We will be looking to score between 120 and 130 this year," Dukes coach Alex Banasiak said. "Hopefully, we can break 130 this year with some of our talented additions at the sophomore level."
- Chris Walker