In battle of Valleys, Waubonsie/Metea co-op takes victory

Monday night meets can be tough, but that's just another aspect of why gymnastics are so difficult.

Waubonsie Valley/Metea Valley co-op coped with the beginning of the week meet rather well, winning 125.875 to 114.325 in Naperville.

"It can be tough, but it's just part of keeping yourself ready for the entire season," said the co-op's Melissa Martin, who posted the top all-around score with a 32.85. "Usually it's cardio for us on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and then muscle training on other days, and once you feel pain, you need to stop. Since we had this meet tonight our schedule changes a bit."

Injuries have already taken a toll on the co-op. One of its top gymnastics, Claire Samojedy, didn't compete because of a concussion she sustained in the season-opening Hinsdale Invitational at Hinsdale South on Nov. 23.

"She'll be out at least another week, but when she comes back that'll boost us up another five points," co-op coach Phil Gilmer said. "We also have some freshmen shaking off the jitters too, which will eventually help us increase our score quite a bit. We still have quite a ways to go and the girls are working hard on all their skills."

Martin won vault and floor.

"Overall it was a pretty good night for me," she said. "I improved from the first meet, so that was good. We now have a solid basis for what we need to do and we'll try to clean it up and upgrade our skills."

Jessica Houghton took second on vault and floor and was third in the all-around with a 31.575 for the winners.

Senior Colleen Moauro, who took second in the all-around with a 32.45, led Neuqua Valley.

"Meets like this make for a long week, so it's tough," she said. "I still think I did pretty OK. It was the first time I did that bar routine and I had a rough beam routine and fell more than I usually do. On floor I tried a new pass but fell, but I want to score higher so now's a good time to try these things."

Olivia Nelson scored a 31.125 in the all-around for the Wildcats.

"We've got a busy week so that made it tough to get ready for this one," she said. "I think it went pretty well, though. There were a few things here and there that we need to work on, but that's what practice is for so we can improve on those."

Imani Porter was second on bars and finished with a 28.625 in the all-around for the Wildcats.

"It's still early in the season, but now the schedule gets busier, so I'm looking to see them warm up and compete like we expect them," Neuqua Valley coach Darragh McDermott said. "This is a good turning point now in the season. I hope it helps with their focus because we have a bunch of meets coming up so now they have to prove themselves."