Boys gymnastics: MSL sticks the sectional landing
What a difference a couple years can make.
Two years ago, the Mid-Suburban League did not send a single team to the boys gymnastics state finals.
The MSL had a complete reversal on Saturday as Fremd, Palatine and Schaumburg all qualified for the finals. It is the first time since 1991 that the MSL has sent three teams to the final meet of the season.
Those three teams will compete with Glenbard West, Wheaton co-op, Deerfield, Mundelein and Niles West on Friday at Hinsdale Central.
Fremd coach Tim Hamman, whose Vikings won their own sectional Saturday afternoon with a score of 149.15, is happy his team is returning to state. The Vikings finished seventh last year.
"It is great to get back to the state meet," Hamman said. "And think of how competitive our conference was this season. This year has been a great year, but a difficult one at times. But I give the kids all the credit for pulling it out."
The Vikings welcomed back Cole Patton, who had not competed for six weeks due to an injury. But Patton, who was fifth in the state on floor exercise last year, did not let the lack of practice time limit him. The senior led a solid floor performance by Fremd (27.45) to post a personal-best score.
"I was really nervous, to be honest," said Patton, who won the event with a 9.25. "I only had a week to practice. It has been definitely been a rough week, but I have been working really hard for this. And I am happy how it turned out."
Also happy for Fremd was all-arounder Chase Jauch. The senior had the best all-around score of his career with a 49.50 to earn a spot in the career Fremd Top 10.
"It is a great way to end my senior year," said Jauch, who also won the parallel bars with an 8.35 and was second in the all-around. "I just missed it earlier this season. So to come back in my final home meet and crack the top 10 is exciting."
Eric Barnd also kept the Fremd wagon rolling by winning the pommel horse with a 9.00.
"My pommels were real good," Barnd said. "I had just a few small bobbles. But other than that, it was a very good set."
The Vikings also got state-qualifying performances from Daniel Classon, Ryan Roth and Nick Oyasu.
Schaumburg, which beat Fremd in a dual meet and at the MSL meet last week, stumbled a bit Saturday. But the Saxons still had enough to earn a second consecutive trip to the finals. Schaumburg scored a 147.15 to secure an at-large berth.
"We had some issues today," Schaumburg coach Erik Bostrom said. "They were very nervous out there and put a lot of pressure on themselves."
The Saxons' Dylan Mitchell won the rings with an 8.85. Teammates Chasen Chau was fourth in the all-around with a 48.80, and Anthony Hardin was fifth with a 48.25. Hazen Rice and Marco Abundiz also qualified for state.
Nolan Willamson of Elgin, who was competing as individual, used some past experience and parlayed it into a sectional all-around title. Williamson, who is a junior, competed two years ago in the state meet but failed to advance last spring.
On Saturday he was solid, winning the all-around with a 52.50. He also won the high bar with an 8.85 and the vault with a 9.15.
"It was rough when I was here last time," Williamson said. "But I learned a lot and I had tech support from the guys from Fremd and Schaumburg. We have become pretty good friends over the past couple of years."
Leyden's Alex Vilchez tied Jauch on the parallel bars to also finish first with an 8.35. Vilchez was sixth in the all-around with a 46.15.
Hoffman Estates was third with 132.55, Leyden was fourth with 132.25 and Lake Park was fifth at 126.55.
Other area automatic qualifiers were Conant's Cole Aykroid and Lake Park's Louie Ranieri.
At Palatine: A slow start morphed into a strong finish and a sectional title for the sectional hosts.
The Pirates struggled on their first event, which was the high bar. But thanks to a spirited hometown crowd, Palatine was able to regroup to score a season-high 151.40.
"It was an outstanding meet for us today," Palatine coach Scott Hagel said. "We had an OK start, but things were up and up from there."
Hagel said that being home and the support there was the difference.
"They really gave us the boost we needed," Hagel said. "Every time we were on an event we could hear them cheering across the gym."
Prakash Nigam was second in the all-around with a 52.70. The junior, who won the parallel bars with an 8.70 and the pommel horse with a 9.20, said starting on the high bar was tough for him and his teammates.
"High bar has not been our forte," Nigam said. "It was a little intimidating to start on it. But it was a home meet and we had all this power going. And it helped a lot."
The Pirates also got very nice performances from Matthew Wang, who tied for fourth in the all -around with a 49.30 and Christian Lunsford, who was sixth in the all-around with a 48.65.
Niles West finished second with a 149.90 and became an at-large qualifier to next week's state meet.
Hersey, which had high hopes to join the other three MSL teams at the state finals, finished third in the sectionals with a 144.20. Unfortunately for the Huskies, that score was the sixth-highest at-large score and only the top three teams qualify.
"The Hersey boys put on a great show today," Hersey coach Dustin Berman said. "They did a great job and gave it everything they had."
Matt Phelps, who was fourth in the all-around, qualified for state in at least four events and Will Nicholson qualified in a pair of events.
Barrington was fourth with 134.20 and Prospect was sixth with a 125.10.
Dundee-Crown senior Satchel Hudson, who along with Jack Russell represented the Chargers at the sectionals, was the big winner of the evening.
Hudson, who finished third in the state last year in the all-around, won the sectional title Saturday with a 53.25 while Russell was ninth with a 45.40.
"Today went very smooth," said Hudson, who won the high bar with an 8.30, the vault with a 9.30 and the rings with a 9.30. "I came in here kind of relaxed and I did not want to throw my full routines because I wanted to make sure that I could qualify in as many events as possible. I love it here. I love high school gymnastics."
Other area automatic qualifiers include Jack D'Onofrio from Prospect and Camron Hardegree from Barrington.