Glenbard West wins 'megadual'

Glenbard West coach Frank Novakowski referred to Saturday's boys gymnastics meet as a megadual with eight teams, including four who advanced to the state finals last May.

It also served as the season opener for all but Addison Trail and the host Hilltoppers, who also competed in Friday's Vic Lesch Invitational.

Continuing its success from a season ago, Glenbard West looked more like a seasoned squad ready for the state series rather than a team just getting started. The Hilltoppers cruised to victory with 149.2 points.

Wheaton Warrenville co-op was second with a 140.05 and followed by Schaumburg's 139.9 and Fremd's 138.7.

Glenbard West scored higher than the 148.25 it earned at state last season.

"It's a nice start, and to be honest, I think it's the highest we've started at since I've been here," Novakowski said. "They came out strong and hit their sets early on. We talked about the team aspect and they really did come together a little quicker than in years past."

Timmy Le led the Hilltoppers, winning the all-around with a 51.65. He also produced the top score on floor, still rings, vault and parallel bars.

Le was all business in the off-season, fully committing himself to getting better after already having a great sophomore year.

"I was in the club just about every day besides Sunday for about four hours a day," he said. "I feel really good with where I've gone with gymnastics. I didn't expect to be up there that high in score and everything."

After getting that state experience a season ago, as the Hilltoppers placed fifth, Le wants to climb even higher.

"Even though we lost some guys we still expect to do well. We just didn't expect a score as high as that today," he said. "What we want to see is us winning state."

On Saturday he saw teammates Paul Bonokollie win and Matthew Ideler take third on pommel horse.

Aiden Rudolph and Viktor Kovalishin each came up big on floor, parallel bars and vault to contribute to the team score, while Gunnar Maddock and Frankie Pham delivered solid efforts on still rings and Ideler and Michael Yangas did the same on high bar.

"It was a good start but we made sure to talk about how they shouldn't be satisfied with this," Novakowski said. "They should focus on working hard to distance themselves."

While Wheaton co-op was second in varsity score, it actually won the unique President's Cup format, which tabulates each team's freshmen, JV and varsity score.

The co-op finished with 314.55 points and was followed by Glenbard West's 306 and Buffalo Grove's 296.9.

"What's really helped us be successful in the past is we've had other guys step up around those elite guys," Wheaton co-op coach Greg Gebhardt said. "I was happy with how our JV and freshmen performed. They're working very hard."

Lucas Cooperman led the co-op, taking third in the all-around with a 49.45. He didn't win any event but finished in the top three in five of them.

Aiden Moran, Joey DiRienzo, Austin Tate and Chase McClearn all contributed to the co-op's team total.

"This is a really good, fun first meet," Gebhardt said. "The guys are still getting into shape and at this point you're trying to be as safe as possible. There was some sloppy stuff and some scary moments, but that's what you expect at the beginning of the season."

Addison Trail placed seventh with a 121.8 and was without one of its top all-arounders, junior Alex Kominowski.

"I feel like we were 8 to 10 points off where we should've been overall today, but one of the reasons was Alex was out," Addison Trail coach Mike Galfi said. "I was happy with the meet and how it ran and the effort of everybody, but we just need be at full capacity because we've got a lot more we can show."

Marcus Rias led the Blazers, taking fifth on floor with an 8.9. He also was seventh on parallel bars and high bar.

"He has been a staple for us the past few years," Galfi said. "His gymnastics are now much more developed in terms of being able to put on a production and show his gymnastics off, and he's a natural leader of the team which is nice to see."

West Chicago junior Jacob Kurian took 12th in the all-around with 42.05.

"It was little rough, but he did OK," Kurian's coach Joe Kermend said. "He grew 4 inches from last year, so he's gone through some growth issues, so he's working on that and trying to keep getting better."