Prairie Ridge co-op repeats as state champ

Nobody said it was going to be easy the second time around, but Prairie Ridge co-op certainly made it look that way.

After earning its first girls state gymnastics title last season, Prairie Ridge co-op rolled to its second straight title on Saturday night at Palatine High School, hitting a school record 150.60.

Junior Nikki Baars and senior Maddie Solka combined for seven state medals in powering the Wolves to their fifth consecutive state trophy and second consecutive state title.

"I told them going into the season that for them to defend the state title was going to be tougher than earning the title," said Prairie Ridge co-op coach Lee Bataglia of his team's challenge. "I think there was more pressure this year, but they came through and handled it well."

DeKalb co-op took a distant second place with 148.075 points, followed by Carmel (146.775), which held off Glenbard West (146.10) for third place.

Baars and Solka set the tone for the Wolves all season and it was no different this weekend as the two Cary-Grove students hit big.

Baars, tied for third in the all-around on Friday, continued to impress on Saturday hitting a double-back dismount in securing the uneven bars title with 9.575.

"We just went out there and did what we're trained to do," said Baars, who added a medal by tying for fifth on the beam (9.425) and capped a sensational weekend by taking third on the floor (9.625). "All the work paid off, we all hit at the right time."

Solka also had a big weekend starting with a fifth-place finish in the all-around on Friday. The senior kept it going on Saturday by earning a fifth place medal on vault (9.675) and ending her night with a fourth-place finish on floor (9.575).

"It definitely feels good to come back and win again," said Solka who will be competing on scholarship for Illinois State University next year. "Everyone worked really hard and worked well under pressure, it's an awesome way to end."

Junior Liz Sysol added to the attack by finishing sixth on the bars (9.4) and helping increase the team score by .375 points, pushing the Wolves' score to an all-time best.

Glenbard West freshman Maddie Diab won the all-around title on Friday and added a vault title (9.9) and beam title (9.525) on Saturday.

DeKalb co-op's Aleah Leman secured the floor title (9.725)