Lake Park takes 2nd at Oswego invite

Teams generally aren't at their best at Oswego's annual Tumble for the Troops girls gymnastics invitational.

Scheduled right before Christmas, the gymnasts are out of school and undoubtedly have forthcoming parties, gifts and festive cheer on their minds.

Furthermore, teams usually aren't at full strength. It's not uncommon for teams to be without some of their gymnasts who are traveling for the holidays, and some coaches choose to restrict some of their athletes, giving their bodies a well-deserved break before the new year.

Despite such potential adversity, Lake Park was at its absolute best this year, scoring a season-high 142.175 to earn second place.

DeKalb/Sycamore co-op, which is expected to be in a running for a state title in February, won the invitational with a 144.925.

"There are a lot of good teams out there which is awesome to see. It just makes everyone better," Lancers coach Jake Luketin said. "This was our best showing of the year and we still don't have everyone in the lineup. The girls keep building on their routines, they're competing hard and it really showed up in the score."

Izzy Shaw, who has torn her ACL twice, led the Lancers. She took second in the all-around with a 37.325 and was on second on vault (9.65), third on beam (9.175) and floor (9.3) and fifth on bars (9.2).

"I was happy with my all-around, especially since I've had a lot of injuries the last two years," she said. "I was really happy to see my hard work and all of our hard work pay off. We've all been working so hard."

The Lancers are deep as they had nine different gymnasts see action. Kelly Zehnder took second on beam with a 9.325, Andie Granskog had a 33.825 in the all-around, Marissa DeBenedetto earned a 9.15 on vault and 8.725 on beam and Kailey Czuma produced an 8.4 on bars.

"We've got so many girls in the lineup and I really don't know what the lineup is going to be on any given day," Luketin said. "It usually depends on how practice goes the week before because they're all really good. It's great to see them have that friendly competition."

Glenbard West was without its top gymnast, all-arounder Maddie Diab, but still earned a 140.9 to place third.

"It was just a nice consistent day for us again," Hilltoppers coach Carlos Fuentes said. "The girls pulled together well and we had a different lineup than usual. Since we were missing Maddie, I sprinkled in a bunch of other kids who did a great job."

Glenbard West has scored a 140 or better all but once this year. To do it without Diab was impressive.

"There's not many teams that could get a 140.9 without their top all-arounder," Fuentes said. "It was business as usual, and we'll have some upgrades next week so we're looking to be strong in the new year."

Amber Broucek tied for third on beam with a 9.175, Alison Oakes was fourth on floor with a 9.2 and Sarah DeStefano was the lone all-arounder for the Hilltoppers, placing fifth with a 35.95. She was also fifth on vault with a 9.225.

"We had a different combination of people, but overall we still did pretty well," DeStefano said. "We've been consistent all season and once we get the lineup exactly how we want it, we should be very good."

Wheaton Warrenville co-op placed fifth with a 134.15.

Julie Galo led the team, taking seventh in the all-around with a 35.125. She was also fourth on vault with a 9.275. Teammate Petrina Chino tied for sixth on bars (9.1) and beam (8.975).

Glenbard East took seventh with a 130.125. Veronika Srey paced the Rams. She had a great vault, taking sixth with a 9.2 and finished with an all-around score of 33.65.

Geneva wasn't at full strength but still managed to capture fourth with a 135.925.

The Vikings' top all-arounder, Claire Ginsberg, only competed in two events, taking fourth on bars (9.3) and winning beam (9.475). Kelly Frank also was strong on beam, taking fifth (9.075). Grace DeVita was the lone all-arounder for the Vikings with a 33.5.

Batavia took sixth with a 130.525.

Lillian Baty-Barr led the Bulldogs. She had their top score on beam (8.275) and floor (8.6) and was their only all-arounder with a 32.325. Jessica Kliest added an 8.775 on vault and Megan McGee contributed an 8.225 on bars.

"We went up a few points from where we started so we're getting there," Batavia coach Taryn Boyce said. "It's been a long three days for them, but Jessica still did a tsuk for the first time and they incorporated some new skills. Now they'll spend some time trying to perfect them."