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Boys gymnastics: Palatine grasps MSL victory

After dislocating a finger a month ago, Palatine's Prakash Nigam was worried his season was over.

"I couldn't make a fist or hop up on the pommel horse," Nigam said. "I thought I was out, and that was it."

Nigam, who'd injured his finger in practice, took some time off for it to heal. He began to compete in a couple events and then went all-around a week ago at Hoffman Estates.

On Friday at the Mid-Suburban League boys gymnastics meet, Nigam showed how far back he has come. The sophomore won the conference all-around title for the second consecutive year, scoring a season-best 51.95.

"That is amazing," Nigam said. "Coming back from an injury and being able to defend my title is very special. But I am just glad to back on the floor with my team."

It was a special night for Palatine as well. The Pirates, who finished third during the regular season in the MSL West, had their best meet of the year, scoring a 150.00 to win the conference meet.

Schaumburg was second with 148.95, Fremd third with a 145.15 and MSL East champion Hersey was fourth at 144.10.

Palatine coach Scott Hagel, who was voted coach of the year in the West, was pleasantly surprised by his team's performance.

"I didn't think with the pommels we had or the the floor we had, we had a chance to win," Hagel said. "With four of the top teams in the state here, we had no idea how we would stack up."

Hagel, whose team hosts the final sectional next Saturday night, says he's hoping this will help propel the Pirates next week.

"This is a great tuneup for the sectionals," Hagel said. "And we are looking forward to even a better meet next week and learning some things from today."

Nigam was solid throughout the meet. He won the rings with an 8.95 and the pommel horse with a 9.05. He also finished in the top five in the vault, parallel bars and high bar.

Nigam got tremendous support from his teammates.

Matt Wang was second in the all-around with a 49.30 and won the vault with a 9.40.

"I just trying to get a real strong performance like I did last week," Wang said. "Everything just worked out for me. I am really happy."

Christian Lunsford, who was eighth in the all-around with a 47.15, also won the parallel bars with an 8.70.

"I had an amazing start to my routine," Lunsford said. "My Moy was great and I said to myself 'Yes, I can do this.' So I made it and then hit my handstand twice. It was a very nice routine."

Palatine also got help from Jack Hallier and Brian Pazdioch.

Schaumburg was second in the meet and held on to the MSL West title.

The Saxons got a a strong performance from Chasen Chau, who was third in the all-around with a 49.00. A.J. Hardin also was solid with his winning 8.70 score in the high bar and sixth-place finish in the all-around with a 48.30.

Schaumburg also showed its depth with top-five finishes by Alex Hernandez (pommel horse), Dylan Mitchell (rings) and Hazen Rice (parallel bars).

"The boys did a great job," Schaumburg coach Erik Bostrom said. "We cleaned some things up in practice. We made some tweaks and added some things that we need before the state series."

Fremd was competing without Dan Classon, who had a family commitment, and Cole Patton, who is still injured. Despite that, the Vikings still had a good meet.

Fremd was led by Ryan Roth, who won the floor with a 9.15. Eric Barnd, Chase Jauch and Nick Oyasu also were key contributors.

"I can't complain," Fremd coach Tim Hamman said. "It would be nice to be full strength at sectionals."

Hersey, which won its second second consecutive East title, scored well on Friday. The Huskies were led by Matt Phleps, who was fourth in the all-around with a 48.60 and Will Nicholson, who was seventh in the all-around with a 48.30.

"They did a nice job tonight," said Hersey coach Dustin Berman, who was named East coach of the year. "They competed well and we still have room to grow. It will be a nice long week for them to prepare for the all-important sectional."

Barrington's Camron Hardegree was fifth in all-around with a 48.40 while Hoffman Estates' Will Fernandez was ninth with a 46.85.

  Schaumburg's A.J. Hardin competes on the parallel bars during the MSL boys gymnastics meet at Rolling Meadows. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Hersey's Matt Phelps competes on the still rings during the Mid-Suburban League boys gymnastics meet at Rolling Meadows. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Fremd's Nick Oyasu competes on the pommel horse during the Mid Suburban League boys gymnastics meet at Rolling Meadows. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Rolling Meadows' Benjamin Kowalski competes on the pommel horse during the Mid-Suburban League boys gymnastics meet at Rolling Meadows. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Rolling Meadows' Benjamin Kowalski celebrates after competing on the pommel horse during the Mid-Suburban League boys gymnastics meet at Rolling Meadows. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Hersey's Will Nicholson competes on the still rings during the Mid-Suburban League boys gymnastics meet at Rolling Meadows. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Barrington's Evan Wiesman competes on the floor exercise during the Mid Suburban League boys gymnastics meet at Rolling Meadows. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
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