Boys gymnastics: Demeris in dominant form for Glenbard West at Conant

A year ago, shoulder issues kept Glenbard West's Alexander Demeris from competing the full six events for the Hilltoppers. After consulting a physician, it was determined that Demeris had a slight fracture in that shoulder, and he rested it in the off-season.

It has taken some time for Demeris, but the sophomore showed Friday at the Conant Ed Raymond Invitational in Hoffman Estates that he's back to being a force to be reckoned with.

Demeris stepped into the state limelight by winning four individual events, and also the all-around with a career-high 54.90.

"I just came into the meet trying not to worry about anything," Demeris said. "I was coming of my best performance in my last meet, and I was just trying to do better than that."

Demeris, who was fifth last Friday iin the Canino Invitational at Hinsdale Central, totally eclipsed that performance. He won the floor (9.50), rings (9.30), parallel bars (9.30) and the high bar (9.20). Demeris was fourth on the pommel horse (8.55) and eighth on the vault (9.05).

"The shoulder feels better," Demeris said. "I was a bit disappointed not competing all-around last year, but I just focused on the events that I competed in."

Glenbard West coach Frank Novakowski said Demeris' work ethic explains why he's become so successful so quickly.

"He is a real hard worker," Novakowski said. "He does the most routines in practice. It's hard to ask for more. He is intrinsically motivated."

With Demeris leading the way, Glenbard West won the team title with a 158.75, easily outdistancing second-place Niles West's 151.50. Schaumburg was third with 149.70 while Libertyville was fourth at 148.575.

"We spent a lot of time over spring break working on skills, and it is paying off," Novakowski said. "We are coming through the heart of the season and trying to work a lot of routines. We still have some teams that are ahead of us in the state. We are trying to motivate these guys and convince them that we can be up there again."

Also leading the way for the Hilltoppers were twins Shea and Aiden Rudolph. Shea Rudolph was third in the all-around with a 51.95 while brother Aiden won the vault with 9.60.

"I started throwing this vault at the Rolling Meadows invite a couple weeks ago and it worked well then," Aiden Rudolph said. "And it is still working well for me, because I got the same score. I am feeling more and more comfortable throwing it."

Daniel Eichin, Carlos Sandoval and Orest Kostetskyy provided some depth for the Hilltoppers.

Schaumburg coach Erik Bostrom, whose Saxons scored well below their previous meets, was not disappointed with his team's performance.

"We were competing without (all-arounder) Brandon Nyborg, who crunched his ankle earlier this week," Bostrom explained. "We knew we were going to be a little low tonight. We had some bobbles on parallel bars and vault, so we lost a couple of points there."

The Saxons did a have highlight with the performance of Oscar Kulesza. The freshman was second in the all-around with a 53.10 and finished second on high bar and pommel horse.

"I tried my best and did what I did," said Kulesza. "I am really enjoying competing with a team. It's great because everyone roots for each other and I get a lot of energy from that."

Libertyville was without its top gymnast, Pat Tanski (illness). But the Wildcats got Max Faber to step up and finish sixth in the all-around with a 50.375, leading his team to a season-high score.

"We are pretty happy and excited," Libertyville coach Josh Cimo said. "The other guys had to pull it up. They did a nice job, but we still counted six falls, so we still have room to go."

Palatine, which finished sixth with a 141.05, was led by Chris Lunsford, who was fourth in the all-around with a 51.60.

Prospect's Jack D'Onofrio was fifth in the all-around with a 50.90.