Boys gymnastics: Glenbard West raises the bar with school record
Glenbard West has registered some high scores over the years, but it had never eclipsed a 28 on high bar.
That all changed during Thursday's West Suburban Silver meet in Glen Ellyn.
The Hilltoppers scored a school-record 28.1 on high bar, eclipsing the record of 27.35 established in 1990. It helped them edge Lyons Township, 162.8 to 161.3, in what was a state preview battle between two of the state's top teams.
Hinsdale Central was third with a 148.35, York was fourth with a 145.45 and Downers Grove North placed fifth with a 144.6.
"We've worked all week on minimizing the deductions and we have a great group of kids that know what we're trying to accomplish," Hilltoppers coach Frank Novakowski said. "After the Donaldson and the Kafka (invitationals) they've done a real good job of focusing on what we've talked about and then going out there and doing it."
On high bar for the Hilltoppers, Aiden Rudolph took sixth, Matthew Ideler was fourth, Timmy Le tied for second and freshman Alexander Demeris won the event with a 9.5.
"You'll see many teams have their first person fall and maybe the next guy will step up and pick him up," Demeris said. "Even when that happens you still lose some energy. When the first guy hits everyone seems to follow. We did our best and we all stuck it."
Timmy Le won the all-around with a 54.4 and claimed the vault title with a 9.4, Frankie Pham won still rings with a 9.5 and Matthew Ideler placed second in the all-around with a 52.6.
The three seniors not only are putting up big scores, but also providing tremendous leadership for last year's state runner-up.
"When you have a guy like Timmy in your gym, he provides great leadership by example," Novakowski said. "And Matthew is so darn consistent. He's grown so much in four years and provides great leadership, and Frankie Pham as well. We're fortunate to have great leadership and without the leadership we wouldn't be doing as well as we are."
Shea Rudolph added a 49.65 in the all-around for the Hilltoppers while Michael Formento and Aiden Rudolph also contributed to the team's overall total.
John Gill and Charlie Cripe, who both earned second-place finishes, paced York. Gill shined on still rings while Cripe was at his best on vault.
"That was one of my best vaults of the season," Cripe said. "I stuck it and I just had to get my speed and height right. I did that and got it done."
While the Dukes continue to move up in scoring, they're also competing in arguably the top conference in the state so it's difficult to move up in the standings.
"We were looking to hit a 150," Cripe said. "This was definitely tough competition today, but we're all good sports. We competed hard and had a good time."
Downers Grove North's Aaron Heppner also appeared to be enjoying himself with a third-place effort in the all-around. Teammates Adan Calleja and Mikael Dukes also had nice efforts, each placing fifth in the floor exercise and vault, respectively.
Hinsdale Central's Nick Altandush took third on pommel horse and Alex Roca tied for fourth on vault to lead the Red Devils.