Boys gymnastics: Glenbard West hits 150 again

Reaching 150 points was one of the goals of the Glenbard West boys gymnastics team.

The Hilltoppers surpassed that mark once again during Saturday's David Donaldson Invite at Wheaton Warrenville South, winning convincingly with 150.275 points.

Runner-up Hinsdale Central scored a 141.92 to edge the host's 141.35.

"We talked ahead of time about how this is almost a preview to the state meet," Hilltoppers coach Frank Novakowski said. "We were at Conant (on Friday) so we went two days in a row and talked about working on the ability to focus when competing like this when you're going two days in a row."

Fatigue wasn't apparent as Timmy Le scored a 50.3 in the all-around, Gunnar Maddock won still rings with an 8.8 and Le took top honors on parallel bars with an 8.85 to pace the winners.

"I think it's the third meet in a row where they hit a 150, so it's a big motivator for them," Novakowski said. "They scored a 149 a couple of times and wanted to go higher and it didn't happen initially, but they believed in themselves, which is very important."

Injuries have plagued Wheaton co-op, which was without Joey DiRienzo (broken ankle) and recently saw the return of its top gymnast, Lucas Cooperman.

"Losing DiRienzo was a huge loss," Wheaton co-op coach Greg Gebhardt said. "We've had some bad Mondays, but the rest of the guys will step up and rally and we'll do the best we can to make a run to state."

Cooperman was second on floor and third on parallel bars and high bar while Aiden Moran scored a 47 in the all-around and Austin Tate added a 45.35 to lead the co-op.

"I was pleased with the way they competed," Gebhardt said. "We've got some guys who are banged up, but for them to come out and perform like they did, I was pleased with their overall performance. Austin (Tate) had a good meet, and it was nice to have (Lucas) Cooperman back and Aiden (Moran) as a sophomore went 6-for-6, which shows what kind of competitor he is. "

Willowbrook's Adam Sousa won floor, vault, pommel horse and high bar while easily taking home the all-around title with a 54.5.

"I definitely feel like I'm improving as the season goes on," he said. "There are still some little things, mistakes, that I need to improve on to get my gymnastics close to perfect, but there's never a perfect meet."

Winning among an elite field has Sousa excited for the remainder of the season.

"I definitely have a lot of respect for the other gymnasts," he said. "It's nice to come here against these guys and have them challenge and bring out the best in me. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season."

Hinsdale Central's Ryan Leahy was second in the all-around with a 50.62 and followed by Le and West Chicago's Jacob Kurian.

"The season has been slow for me, but after a lot of practice I think I had my best meet," Kurian said. "It's just been a lot of practicing for me and doing a lot of routines and I think it's starting to pay off."

Naperville Central's Ryan Durkin placed second on pommel horse with an 8.8, and Glenbard North's Luke Meister was seventh in the all-around with a 43.7.