Girls gymnastics: Scores, expectations on the rise for Carmel

Carmel Catholic's girls gymnastics team keeps raising the bar.

The Corsairs chalked up a season-high 146.7 in taking the top spot in the Lake County Invitational hosted by Lake Forest on Saturday. Deerfield was a distant second with a 140.95, followed by Mundelein (139.7), Barrington (136.475) and Stevenson (136.425) in the 11-team field.

"We added several new skills on different events," Carmel coach Sarah Mikrut Doyle said. "I definitely don't think we're peaking, but we're getting to be more consistent with the new stuff. We're pretty good judging what we see. We know what the girls are capable of."

Carmel's Lyndsey Basura and Isabella Kropiwiec each scored a 36.9 in the all-around to share top honors. Their teammates Kelly Gustafson and Kyla Rapplean shared fifth place (36.05).

Kropiwiec won vault (9.6), Basara was second (9.5) and Gustafson tied Mundelein's Emma Hallin for fifth (9.25).

Rapplean earned a winning 9.5 on the uneven bars, and Kropiwiec was second with a 9.4. Gustafson picked up fifth on balance beam (9.15), while Kristin Frisch of Lake Forest earned the top spot (9.5).

Basara also finished first on floor exercise with a 9.6, and Gustafson was third with a 9.25.

"I thought I had one of my best bar routines," Rapplean said. "I didn't warm up a double-back, but I wanted to show that I could do it because in the other meets I was doing a layout out of (the dismount). It was my first time doing it. When I was on the bars, I loved hearing my teammates screaming. It helped a lot."

Stevenson's Zoe Hinz, bothered by an ankle injury early in the season, is showing she's on the road to recovery. She earned second place on beam with a 9.45. Her teammates followed her lead, as Riley Polatsek (9.3) and Hannah Brand (9.275) took third and fourth, respectively.

"I sprained my ankle and it's taken a while to heal," Hinz said. "It's still not 100 percent. I'm getting back into events that I can do. I had a pretty good beam routine for the third time competing this year. I was able to stick everything."

Barrington's Lauren Tenbrunsel finished fourth on vault with a 9.275, while Mundelein's Katie Miller placed fourth on floor with a 9.2.

As a team, Mundelein is still seeking consistency.

"We've been a little up and down after the Christmas break," Mustangs coach Jesse Piland said. "It's the mark of a young team. It's something that we're going to have to deal with. I know the girls would like to have this meet back. There were a few things we normally do in practice that we didn't do here, but we're perfectly OK with this score. We can do better."