Feel-good finish for invite host Conant as Carmel takes top finish

Conant girls gymnastics coach Anthony Avella said he had a "good feeling" about his team's chances at Saturday's Cougars Invite.

"I just had a sense," said Avello, "everything was going to fall into place."

Avella's prediction was right on, as Conant scored a fourth-place finish, just missing out on third place.

The Cougars' total of 137.55 was just behind Wheaton Warrenville co-op, which finished at 137.80.

Carmel Catholic won the invitational with a score of 144.325. The Corsairs placed at least three gymnasts among the top 10 in each event, getting their top finishes from Anna Osowski on parallel bars (second, 9.4) and floor exercise (fourth, 9.2), and Kelly Gustafson on vault (seventh, 9.2) and beam (fifth, 9.05). Antonia Durnil was Carmel's top all-arounder, finishing sixth at 36.1; she also placed fifth on floor exercise (9.175).

"The girls had a great day and were very energized throughout the meet," said Carmel coach Nicole Stroup. "The girls had some great competition today competing against teams who were on the podium at state, and teams who have increased their depths. We will continue to make improvements, but the girls went out and attacked their routines today and looked beautiful on the competition floor."

Carmel freshmen Emma Jensen and Emilia Pusynski both cracked the top 10 on vault, with Jensen taking eighth (9.1) and Pusynski ninth (9.0). Stroup says it's not a coicidence that the team is getting a good example from the senior class.

"I am proud how senior leader and co-captain Antonia Durnil is carrying her team," Stroup said. "She gets the job and trusts in her gymnastics. It's been amazing to watch her growth and maturity through her four years on the team."

Claire Rose Ginsberg of Geneva won the all-around with a 9.425 average. She also had the top performances on parallel bars (9.45), balance beam (9.35) and floor exercise (9.6) as the Vikings placed sixth at 137.45.

Glenbard West's Maddie Diab finished third on floor (9.4), beam (9.2) and vault (9.4) and was fourth in the all-around in leading the Hilltoppers to a runner-up team finish at 142.25.

Wheaton Warrenville's top performance came from Petrina Chino, who took fourth on parallel bars (9.3).

Warren placed seventh in the team race at 136.35 but got a standout all-around effort from Teagon Albert. She placed second (37.45) and had runner-up efforts on floor exercise (9.5) and balance beam (9.3).

For Conant, it was a case of competing well under duress.

"I'm proud of the girls," said Avella. "This was our season high, and we actually limped in to this tourney with a couple of the girls out with sprained ankles.

"This performance makes me happy as a coach, and I'm so excited to see us grow as a team. There's plenty of season left."

Conant was led by an outstanding performance from junior Melynda Meyrick. She was third in the all-around with a 9.325, a score that included a win in the vault at 9.80.

"It was all good today," said Meyrick, who added that she has "been working very hard in practice."

For his part, Avella said he appreciates the effort that Meyrick puts in.

"She had a great meet," said Avella, "and today's vault - it was the best she's done all season."

Hoffman Estates boasted a top 20 finish in the all-around, as Sidney Blanz-Enright was 19th at 7.4875.

Megan Donner, a Prospect senior, excelled for the Knights with a fifth-place finish in the all-around.

The senior placed fourth in the vault (9.30) and sixth in the balance beam (9.15).

"Megan is outstanding," said Prospect first-year coach Bridget Erickson. "She lives and breathes gymnastics.

"She's been on varsity a long time, she knows all the girls, and they look up to her," added Erickson.

"Megan has a great drive to succeed and she's been working very hard to get to this level."

Erickson says she counting on Donner for a leadership role this season, something the senior is happy to embrace.

"It's a big step to lead a team," said Donner, "but my teammates are so supportive and so mature, they make it easy for me.

"We've improved a lot," added Donner. "I love the diversity of our team and I basically love everything about this team."

Baily Hornstein of Conant scored a ninth-place finish in the vault with a 9.0, while teammate Bailey Bloom was 13th in the parallel bars (9.0) and seventh on the balance beam (8.9).

Rosie Barros of Prospect excelled with a 10th spot in the all-around finish. Her day included a ninth-place finish in the floor exercise.

"We're having a good year," said Erickson. "We jumped 13 points from our last invitational, and I'm looking forward to see what the

rest of the season will bring."

at Hersey: Mundelein rose above the competition in the Michael Meyer Memorial Candy Cane Invite, earning a team score of 139.15. That bettered runner-up Hersey (134.525) and third-place finisher Glenbard North (134.15).

Meagan Kehr won the floor exercise for the Mustangs with a 9.2 and finished second in the all-around at 36.325. Teammate Taylor Shanahan placed second on vault (9.5) and fourth on beam (8.75).

Hersey had the top team finish on balance beam, where Mackenzie Kamysz (8.9) and Alysa Zurlo (8.85) finished 1-2. Zurlo finished fourth in the all-around (35.4).

Glenbard North's Allison Wahlman won the all-around (36.65) and had the winning performance on vault (9.525).