Boys gymnastics: Round 1 goes to Palatine in matchup against Fremd

Palatine set the tone for the next six weeks of the boys gymnastics season with crosstown rival Fremd on Wednesday.

The two schools will seed plenty of one another in the days ahead, and Palatine got off to winning start in their dual meet Wednesday, knocking off the host Vikings 154.40 to 146.90. Wheaton Co-op also sent its varsity team to compete and finished with a 142.70.

"We get a shot every week now with Fremd," Palatine coach Scott Hagel said. "So this is where it starts, and here we go."

The second half of the gymnastics season began a weekly ritual for the two Palatine schools. They will meet next week at the Conant Invite, the following week at the Hawk Invite at Hoffman Estates and then at the Mid-Suburban meet.

Both schools are ranked in the top five in the state, and both host sectionals. Fremd's falls on Friday, May 5, and Palatine will host on Saturday, May 6. Both teams then hope to see one aother a final time at the state finals at Hinsdale Central on May 12.

"This is kind of what I expected tonight," Hagel said. "We backed off some routines and tried new tricks during spring break. But we didn't go backwards, which is a good thing. I talked to our guys about focus and that should help us get even a higher score next time."

Prakash Nigam led the way for Palatine on Wednesday.

The senior, who will attend West Point and will compete gymnastics there next year, won the all-around with a 55.10. He also won the the floor (9.60), the pommel horse (9.10), the parallel bars (9.20) and the high bar (8.50).

"I have always wanted to go to West Point since the age of 7," said Nigam, who made his decision last fall. "And to be able to compete gymnastics there is a dream come true. I have continued to work hard all season. I want to be ready when I get there."

Also ready for Palatine was junior Christian Lunsford. He took third in the all-around with a 50.40. Bryan Gaytan also came up big for the Pirates, winning the vault with a 9.50 and finishing with a 45.90 all-around score.

Joseph Zhao, Jack Benzo and Trevor Hallier also had their scores count for the Pirates.

Fremd, which was on the same spring break as Palatine, didn't seem to adjust as well as the Pirates.

"I think we struggled a little bit," Fremd coach Tim Hamman said. "That is somewhat to be expected.

"We spent into spring break trying out new skills and we got a bit out of routine shape. But the good news is that we will see a lot of them the next weeks."

Fremd's Eric Barnd was second in the all-around with a 51.20, while Ryan Roth, who won the rings (9.40), was fourth with a 49.10. Nick Oyasu scored a 46.50 while Ethan Cho tallied a 35.70.

Wheaton co-op coach Greg Gebhardt said having his team compete against two of the best teams in the state will help his team prepare for the state meet. Wheaton, which is seeded 11th in the state, is at top-rated Glenbard West for a sectional on May 3.

"Coming out to compete side by side with two of the top teams is great," Gebhardt said. "We just want to see how we match up.

"We have had some injuries and are just coming off of spring break. But I like what our guys are doing."

Wheaton got a top performance from Austin Tate, who scored a 47.20 in the all-around. Andy Mathieu was third on pommel horse while Chris Wiper was third on parallel bars.