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Fremd, Schaumburg and Willowbrook qualify to state

A year ago, the Mid-Suburban League did not send a team to the boys gymnastics team state finals.

On Saturday at Fremd and Hoffman Estates, the conference rebounded quite nicely, with both Fremd and Schaumburg qualifying as at large teams to the team finals at Hinsdale Central next weekend.

Those teams will join sectional winners Wheaton Co-op, Stevenson, Willowbrook, Niles West and Glenbard West along with at-large team Deerfield to make up the eight-team field.

Fremd advanced to the state finals for the first time since 2007. The Vikings were able to advance thanks to their score of 143.00, which was the second-highest at-large score.

"It is really exciting for the team and our school," Fremd coach Tim Hamman said. "We had a pretty good meet. We were consistent at 143. Our goal at the get go was to win conference and make it to state, and we did both."

Fremd finished second in its own sectional to Niles West, which finished with a 146.85. The Wolves won their first sectional title since 1975.

Fremd was led by Cole Patton, who won the sectional title on the vault with a 9.40 and was second on the floor with a 9.10. Patton, whose older brother C.J., was a state champion as an individual on the pommel horse, is doing something his brother didn't do: going to state with his whole team.

"C.J. was a great gymnast who had some terrific success as an individual," Cole Patton said. "I would love to do as well. But the really great thing is that I get a chance to go to state with my whole team."

The Vikings also got a nice performance from Eric Barnd. The junior finished third in the all-around with a 46.90 and automatically qualified for state. Barnd also qualified on the high bar and vault.

Fremd also had automatic qualifiers in Daniel Classon and Nick Oyasu on the pommel horse and Ryan Roth on the floor.

"Our depth has shown all year and this a great example," Hamman said. "We are hoping for a few more qualifiers once we know the individual cutoff scores."

Palatine just missed qualifying as a team. The Pirates finished with a 141.60.

"It is a bit disappointing," Palatien coach Scott Hagel said. "But this is a very young team and the kids are already talking about next season."

One of those kids who still will be focused on this season is Palatine all-arounder Prakash Nigam, who qualified for state by finishing second in the all-around with a 51.75.

"I thought it would be nice to make it with my team this year," said Nigam, who qualified for state last year as a freshman. "Unfortunately that didn't happen. We had a few mistakes here and there and we just couldn't overcome them."

Nigam also won the rings with a 9.20 and was second in the pommel horse, parallel bars and high bar. He also qualified for state in the vault and will be an at large qualifier on the floor.

Hersey finished 4th with a 140.30. But headed to state for the Huskies are Matt Phelps on the parallel bars and vault, Will Nicholson on the high bar, Jon Phelps on the vault and floor and Eric Williams and Dylan Vo on the rings.

Thanks to the performances of Mark Larock, who qualified on the high bar and pommel horse, Prospect finished fifth with a 127.60.

At Hoffman Estates: Willowbrook boys' gymnastics has made quite an about-face.

Seven years ago, the Warriors were not even able to send a team to the West Suburban Gold conference meet.

But in Saturday, the Warriors capped a dramatic improvement with one of their best performances ever, scoring 148.40 to win the sectional title and qualify for the state finals for the first time since 1991.

"This is a great group of kids," said Willowbrook coach John Wronkiewicz, who competed for Fremd in 2003. "The guys were a bit nervous coming in tonight because it has been such a long time since our school has been to state. I just told them to focus on their routines and leave the scoring to the judges."

When Wronkiewicz took over the the program, he was told it was on the chopping block. But Wronkiewicz began to work to bring it into the forefront at the Villa Park school.

"The thing I wanted to do was build team unity," Wronkiewicz said. "I wanted to get some excitement back in the program.

"During meets, all these guys are on their feet when we are up on the equipment. They are unified and excited. It is good for us and good for the sport."

Adam Sousa, who is just a freshman, won the all-around title with a 50.85, edging out teammate Keawe Winstead, who scored a 50.15. Brett Golz was fourth in the all-around for the Warriors with a 47.40 and will qualify as an at-large competitor.

Sousa won the parallel bars with an 8.55 and the floor with a 9.30. He also was an automatic qualifier on the vault, high bar and pommel horse.

Winstead brought in top honors in the high bar with a 7.90. It was a strong event for the Warrios, who swept the top three places, with Sousa finishing second and Golz third. Winstead also qualified on the parallel bars, the rings and the pommel horse.

Schaumburg made state for the first time since 1999, and just the second time in school history. The Saxons finished with a 142.80 to become the final at-large team and bump Mundelein from the state finals.

"We had a great meet tonight," Schaumburg coach Erik Bostrom said. "We started off strong on the rings and we just kept it moving the whole meet."

The Saxons needed 20.35 on the pommel horse to advance. And when junior Alejandro Gonzalez score an 8.00 on the team's final routine, Scuamburg had punched its ticket.

"It was nerve-wracking just waiting for my turn," said Gonzalez, whose score was his season-best. "I was trying to stay on and keep it clean."

Gonzalez also qualified for state on the event. He will be joined by teammates Anthony Hardin (parallel bars, vault), along with Cody Scott (vault) and Dylan Mitchell and Anthony Gershman (rings).

Hoffman Estates had a third-place finish with a 136.50. But coach Ryan B. Brown was excited about all his state qualifiers.

"It was a great meet for us," Brown said. "But I am really happy for all the guys who made it to state."

Anthony Halbisch made it through on the floor and high bar, while Brendan Gorvett qualified on the floor and Bartosz Widelak on the parallel bars.

Leyden had a sectional champion in Alex Vilchez. The junior won the rings with an 8.55. He also was second on the parallel bars and helped his team to a fourth-place finish with a 131.65.

Fenton's Oscar Garza also qualified for the finals. The senior finished third on the floor with a 9.05.

Dundee-Crown's Satchel Hudson came to the meet without a team behind him. And Hudson will move on to the state finals thanks to his third-place finish in the all-around with a 49.65. The junior also won two events - vault, where he scored an eye-popping 9.50, and the pommel horse with an 8.85.

  Prospect's Mark Larock competes on the floor exercise during the Fremd boys gymnastics sectional in Palatine on Saturday. Joe Lewnard/ jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Hersey's Will Nicholson competes on the pommel horse during the Fremd boys gymnastics sectional in Palatine Saturday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Palatine's Prakash Nigam competes on the still rings during the Fremd sectional in Palatine on Saturday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Prospect's Jack D'Onofrio competes on the parallel bars during the Fremd boys gymnastics sectional in Palatine Saturday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Fremd's Daniel Classon competes on the pommel horse during the Fremd boys gymnastics sectional in Palatine Saturday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
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