Fremd elevates again in Sopper victory

Fremd's girls gymnastics team has earned three consecutive third-place state trophies, and on Saturday at the Mari-Rae Sopper Invitational, the Vikings showed they will again be in the mix for some more state hardware.

The Vikings were hitting from start to finish in cruising to the team title of the meet they hosted with a season-high score of 147.025 in Palatine.

"This is something we've been waiting for all year," said Fremd coach Elise Ference-Saisi. "We've kept getting better and better, and finally today we put it together."

Freshman Abby Carlson (37.75) and junior Kayla Carlson (37.275) went 1-2 in the all-around, powering Downers Grove South to a second-place finish with a season-best 144.675.

Palatine is also a team on the rise and the young Pirates hit on Saturday, taking third place with a season-high 141.10.

Naperville Central (132.20) took seventh place, with St. Charles Co-op (131.20) finishing eighth in the nine-team field.

Fremd has been rolling to start the year. The Vikes hit a 142.1 on Jan. 5, came back to hit 144.35 on Jan. 13 and kept the trend going upward on Saturday.

Senior Lisa Radochonski and senior Gaby Lytle sparked Fremd. Lytle started the day by nailing her Yurchenko Pike to take first on the vault (9.6). Radochonski followed by winning bars (9.5), capping her performance with a double-back dismount.

"We've had so much confidence lately and it's showing," said Radochonski, who took third in the all-around (36.725) and also added a third-place finish on the beam (9.15). "We've bonded as a team and know how to pick each other up."

Radochonski and Lytle had plenty of help, with senior Grace Korn adding a third-place finish on vault (9.525), senior Maggie Betti contributing third place on both bars (9.35) and beam (8.95), and sophomore Abby Moran stepping up big with second on beam (9.175) and fifth on floor (9.35).

Fremd senior Carly DeFilippo was solid on vault (9.4) and sophomore Courtney Ng added an impressive beam (9.0) in helping to elevate the Vikings into the state trophy conversation.

"We needed to have a meet like this," said Lytle. "It shows us we can hit and get the scores we've been aiming for all season. It will definitely help push us with the state series approaching."

Junior Kara Ure gave Palatine a boost by taking fourth in the all-around (36.65). The Palatine junior has anchored the Pirates attack all season, and it was no different on Saturday as she added a first-place finish on beam (9.35) and a fourth-place finish on floor (9.4).

"She's feeling confident," said Palatine coach Terry Theobald. "No doubt it helps the team when she is on the team is on."

"We've been practicing a lot more on beam, and the numbers have helped," added Kara Ure of her performance. "I'm feeling much more confident this year and Terry (Theobald) has really been helping me out."

Freshman Kristin Ure gave the Pirates a boost with a fifth-place finish on beam (9.05), and sophomore Abby Amato had a solid all-around performance, especially on vault (9.0) and floor (8.9).

"We kept the energy up in the first two events and it helped in closing on the final two events," said Amato.

Abby Carlson and Kayla Carlson provided a 1-2 punch for Downers Grove South, with Abby taking first on the floor (9.75), adding a second on the bars (9.4), and a pair of fourth place finishes on the vault (9.5) and beam (9.1).

Kayla added a second place finish on both vault (9.575 and floor (9.55) for the Mustangs.

"I had a really good start on bars," said Abby Carlson of her big day. "I kept building my confidence from there. We performed very well as a team today and we're peaking at the right time."

Sophomore Emma Grace Redmond-Mattucci powered the St. Charles Co-op attack by taking fifth in the all-around (36.625). She was also fifth on vault (9.425) and fourth on bars (9.25).

"I felt very confident today," said Redmond-Mattuci, whose team was missing Dani Buoy. "We're coming together as a team and we're confident."

at Prospect: Junior Angel Kruse and freshman Jill Valente helped to propel Elk Grove to the Prospect Invitational title on Saturday with 136.60 points.

Host Prospect took second with 135.95 points, followed by Schaumburg (134.45), Rolling Meadows (134.30), and Buffalo Grove (130.10).

Kruse had a big night, taking second on the beam (9.0, tying for second on vault (8.9), and taking fourth in the all-around (35.05).

Valente also came up big with a second-place finish on floor (9.15) along with a fifth-place finish on all-around (34.7) and a tie for fifth on vault (8.6).

Rolling Meadows' Victoria Zervos took first in the all-around (36.0). She won beam (9.05), tied for second on bars (9.35), took third on floor (9.0) and tied for fifth on vault (8.6).

Prospect senior Megan Donner gave the Knights a lift by taking first on the vault (9.0) and floor (9.2), adding a fourth-place finish on beam (8.8), and finishing in second place in the all-around (35.7).

Schaumburg senior Jess Muza took first on the bars (9.4).