Panthers' Fox 4th in all-around
Naperville North gymnast Sami Piotrowski has finished in first place in her share of meets during the past two years.
Most recently she tied for top honors in the DuPage Valley Conference meet, stole the show during the Naperville North regional, and again was the top dog in last week's Neuqua Valley sectional.
During Friday's state finals, Piotrowski was hoping to finish in the top three, but she fell on beam, her final event, and settled for a fifth-place in the all-around with a 37.8.
"My goal wasn't really to win and concentrate on scores, but I wanted to hit 4 for 4 and leave my mark on high school gymnastics," Piotrowski said. "I was really disappointed to end like that, but I have three events tomorrow so let's sleep it off and see if I can hit 3 for 3."
Perhaps the biggest surprise came from Glenbard North sophomore Amber Fox, who had a tremendous meet, finishing in fourth place in the all-around, and she'll compete tonight on vault after scoring a 9.625.
"She had a great meet," Glenbard North coach Edsel Clark said. "She qualified on vault and ended with a great effort on beam."
She'll have a teammate right by her side tonight, as senior Meghan Court finished eighth in floor exercise.
"You know Meghan wanted to hit 4 for 4, and didn't, but had a great floor routine," Clark said. "It's a great way for her to end her high school career."
Glenbard West senior Courtney Gonzales finished seventh on vault and second in floor exercise.
"My goal was to do as best as I could and try to get to Saturday," Gonzales said. "Now I get to come back and I've very excited."
Wheaton North senior Sarah Beste finished ninth on bars to live another day in the state series. Unfortunately she didn't move on in the floor exercise where she scored a 9.6. Since she didn't advance in the event in sectionals, she wasn't eligible to qualify in the event at state.
"I'm really happy," she said. "I really didn't know what to expect her and my bar routine wasn't my best but I advanced. I wanted to finish strong (on floor) and I did."
Seniors Cassy Waldman and Christina Tardy closed out their high school careers. Waldman tied for 12th on vault and scored an 8.65 on bars.
Tardy posted an 8.55 on bars.
Four other local competitors participated in single events, all making their first appearance in the state finals. Hinsdale Central's Erin Usher scored a 9.35 vault while Glenbard North freshman Christina Rini, Neuqua Valley's Heather Summers and Naperville North's Carolyn Filarski all worked their skills on beam.
In the team competition Fremd scored a 149.975 to lead the eight-team field.