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Schaumburg fast-forwards to another state appearance

The future came quickly for Schaumburg.

After seeing his team qualify for the boys gymnastics state finals the last three seasons, Schaumburg coach Erick Bostrom did not know what to expect this season with a squad that was led by a sophomore and two freshmen.

The young Saxons exceeded expectations, winning a sectional title and earning a berth to the state team finals Friday at Hoffman Estates.

"This is really exciting, going for another year," Bostrom said. "We are really fortunate to be headed that way. The boys are excited."

The Saxons are led by sophomore Brandon Nyborg, who was the sectional all-around champion. Freshman Oscar Kulesza, who was just .05 points behind Nyborg in the all-around also has looked good for Schaumburg, along with freshman Nathan Frank, who has steadily increased his all-around scores this year.

Also key for the Saxons will be Jacob Raeside, James Minard, Sean Kraemer, Trent Ramirez, Wei Ping Lam, Trever Baynes and Kafar Greer.

Schaumburg is making its fourth consecutive appearance at the state finals as a team. The Saxons will making that trip for the first time as sectional champions.

Schaumburg will be joining sectional champions Deerfield, Lyons, Wheaton South co-op and Mundelein along with at-large team Glenbard West, Highland Park and Downers Grove North.

The meet, which will been held at Hoffman Estates for the first time, returns to the Northwest suburbs. It had been held at Hinsdale Central and Lincoln-Way West the past few years. Barrington, Schaumburg and Forest View were previous host locations.

"At this point, we have nothing to lose, " Bostrom said. "We are going to go all out and see where it places us. We are a young team, but we have a couple guys who were there last year as freshmen. So we will look to lean on them."

Schaumburg will be the lone MSL team at the finals this year. That ends a two-year run by the MSL where the conference had sent three teams to the finals.

Even though their full teams will not be represented, most of the MSL schools will have competitors in the individual events.

On Friday, the state all-around completion will be contested. Joining Nyborg and Kulesza will be Rolling Meadows' Ben Kowalski, Palatine's Christian Lunsford, Hersey's Garrett Naughton and Prospect's Jack D'Onfrio.

Qualifying for the individual event finals will begin at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, with the finals scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

Top individuals in those events include Nyborg, Kowalski and Palatine's Brian Gaytan on the floor. Kowalski, Naughton and Hersey's Matt Bednar are top contenders on the pommel horse, with Nyborg, Kowalski and Lunsford on the rings and Kowalski on the vault.

On the parallel bars, Kulesza, Nyborg, Kowalski, Naughton and Lunsford should contend while Naughton and Kulesza should be in contention on the high bar.

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