Blue Devils bounce back

Warren's girls gymnastics team was disappointed in its third-place finish in the Lake Forest/Warren Invitational last week.

The Blue Devils got back to work in preparation for Saturday's Lake County invitational.

Warren's hard work paid off, as the Blue Devils chalked up first place in the county invite, surging ahead of Stevenson to post a 147.18. The Patriots were second with a 146.19 and Carmel finished third with a 142.86 at Libertyville.

"We're on our way to our goal; we're getting closer and closer," Warren coach Carrie Parker said. "We spent 2½ hours working on the beam after a team meeting. The girls know what they need to do. They were upset after what happened last week."

The Blue Devils had three gymnasts finish in the top five in the all-around. Kim Gotlund took first with a 37.75, while Kacie Holop was second (37.35) and Chelsea Youngberg fourth (37.08).

Gotlund also earned winning 9.75s on vault and floor. She took third on beam with a 9.25.

Gotlund's floor routine helped Warren overtake Stevenson in the last event.

"I definitely came through with my best routines on vault and floor," Gotlund said. "On floor, we knew we were down (to Stevenson) and we had to pull through. I just had to hit all my passes and have good landings."

Holop took second place on both floor (9.6) and bars (9.3). Youngberg finished fourth on floor (9.48) and tied for fifth on bars (9.15) with Mundelein's Kelsey Teegen.

Stevenson posted its best score of the season, bettering the 146.1 it hit against Fremd last Tuesday.

"We're definitely headed in the right direction," Stevenson coach Judy Harwood said. "We started out the season with injuries, but now we're healthy and starting to hit our routines. Some of our girls are starting to throw some new things.

"I'm thinking when we come back to this gym (for the North Suburban Conference meet Jan. 26), our scores will be a little higher."

Patriots junior Chelsie Seplowin won bars with a 9.45 and took fifth in the all-around with a 37.03. Teammate Stephanie Wojton placed fourth on bars (9.2) and fifth on beam (9.1).

"We've got a lot of potential," Seplowin said. "We've got the skills. We're getting there."

Carmel's MaryAnn Oehlerking worked bars, despite injuring herself in practice Friday.

"I was doing my tumbling passes and hyper-extended both of my knees," she said. "I went to sleep, woke up (Saturday morning) and couldn't really bend my legs. I really didn't plan on doing bars, but then I decided to."

Oehlerking earned a 9.25 and took third place.

"I'm more than proud of that kid to come back and do bars," Carmel coach Sarah Doyle said. "She's really a leader, emotionally, today. She's got every reason to be down, but she picked every one up and kept them focused. We needed that."

Carmel's Amber Mirski won the balance beam with a 9.5. She also placed fourth on vault (9.58) and took third in the all-around (37.11).

Barrington was fourth with a 139.36. Senior Kelsey Percels placed second on both vault (9.65)and beam (9.45). She was also fifth on floor (9.45). Teammate Laura Scully finished fourth on beam (9.15).

"I've added a lot of new skills," Percels said. "I've just been very consistent."

Libertyville's Amanda Winn picked up third on vault (9.6), Vernon Hills' Fallon Faia took fifth on vault (9.57), and Lakes' Cody Ksioszk was third on floor (9.5).