Willowbrook shows this could be a special year
Willowbrook has a rich history of success in boys gymnastics.
It's just that you have to dig deep into the past to find the last time the Warriors were one of the state's best.
This year they're proving to be one of them.
Willowbrook, which was competing without one of its top gymnasts, Keawe Winstead, still managed to snag second place during Friday's Ralph Krupke Invite at Lake Park with 131.7 points.
Wheaton Warrenville co-op won handily with a 143.4.
"Second place is still good," Willowbrook freshman Adam Sousa said. "At full strength I think we possibly could've gotten first."
The Warriors haven't advanced to the state meet since 1991 but have had twso great runs in program history, which includes 11 state appearances. They qualified in every year, except 1967, from 1960-1968 and won a state title in 1964.
Then they had a drought until 1988 while also getting to the finals in 1990 and 1991.
"We're very excited with how the season has gone so far," Willowbrook senior Bret Golz said. "I think we could've had a chance (of winning) at full strength, but even when we're not at full strength we have to continue to work our hardest. Second (place) is not bad at all. We'll take it and next time we'll go for gold."
Sousa won vault with a 9.2 and high bar with a 7.5. He placed second in the all-around with a 49.25.
"Vault and high bar have been some of my best events, but there's always a few things here and there to improve on," he said. "Overall I was pretty satisfied with my performance."
Golz was fourth in the all-around with a 44.75.
"We're excited to get back in the gym during spring break to do some new things and clean some things up," he said. "We want to be ready for our next meet to show what we've got."
Wheaton Warrenville showed why it's the three-time defending state champ as it breezed to the win, despite not performing at its best.
Senior Ben Szot won pommel horse with an 8.7, parallel bars with a 9.1 and still rings with a 9.2 while capturing the all-around title with a 52.
"I was really happy with my rings today, especially after having a rough patch on pommel horse," Szot said. "It feels nice (to win the all-around). We've been putting in so much time and effort so it's nice to see it pay off."
Wheaton Warrenville junior Lucas Cooperman made some adjustments to his floor routine. He won it with a 9.1 and took third in the all-around with a 45.75.
"I added a rudi to my routine but it didn't add anything, and I took a back step on it," he said. "Last year I was scoring around a 9.3 or 9.4 so I definitely think I can bring it up, but for now it's pretty nice."
In addition to its big all-around scores, Wheaton Warrenville received a third-place effort from Cory Drummond on floor with an 8.8 and an 8.45 on vault from Adam DeCrane. The team's unsung hero so far this spring, Austin Tate, was third on still rings with a 7.6 and fourth on pommel horse with an 8.1.
"Coach (Greg) Gebhardt says that no season goes by without its up and downs," Cooperman said. "We weren't on our 'A' game - you saw that our pommel horse sets weren't exactly stellar - but it's just grinding out in the gym and getting better."
Downers Grove North's Jeremy Guinn took second on pommel horse, Kevin Van Saten earned second on still rings and Jake Graham was third on parallel bars to help the Trojans take third with a 126.125.
Kwame Lipscomb scored a 9.0 on floor to take second place and help Hinsdale South finish fourth with a 122.55.
Conant edged Lake Park 117.45 to 117.35 for fifth place.
The Lancers were without one of their top gymnasts, Luke Badger, who was suffering from flu symptoms.
"We've scored over 120 so we were down a bit tonight," Lancers coach Anthony Avella said. "We saw some nice things and they're working hard at trying to get better."
Glenbard South scored a 116.8 while Naperville North's JV team had a 112.45.
Apparently, Huskies JV coach Ryan Dengel promised his team pizza if they didn't finish in last place in the 10-team field. They secured eighth place, so it appears as if Dengel's wallet took a hit and the Huskies enjoyed some pie.