Carmel's Amber Mirski well on road to recovery

Amber Mirski has opened her high school girls gymnastics season on the right road as she continues her return to competition after recovering from shoulder surgery.

The Carmel Catholic junior injured her shoulder performing in club gymnastics in April when she landed awkwardly doing a dismount on balance beam and tore her labrum.

After competing in club regionals and nationals, Mirski underwent surgery in June in which several pins were inserted to keep the muscle stable in her shoulder.

"I'm so fortunate to be back out here," Mirski said. "I'm comfortable and ready to go. I just want to beat my goal of last year and get on the podium at state.

"I'm trying to do my best getting back to normal. I do get pain once in a while, but I can do everything now."

Mirski compiled an all-around average of 36.5, helping Carmel Catholic earn a 141.5 to win a triangular over host Lake Forest (137.95) and Vernon Hills (88.1) on Wednesday night.

Mirski's first competition had come Saturday at the Rolling Meadows invite, where she finished second on beam.

On Wednesday, Mirski tied for first on vault with freshman teammate Jen Zeller and Lake Forest's Ofelia Carmichael (9.5).

Amber Mirski tied for second with her freshman sister Kristin on bars (9.1) - while Zeller placed first (9.2). Amber also had the second spot on beam (8.9) and third on floor (9.0).

"Amber is looking so strong," said Carmel coach Sarah Mikrut-Doyle. "She looks stronger to me than last year. She just came back on October 16. She's so hardworking and a great leader."

Kristin Mirski took top honors on floor (9.1) ahead of the Scouts' Kendra Kawala (9.05). Kristin Mirski was second in the all-around (35.2), edging Lake Forest's Katie Meier.

Meier also had the best beam routine, earning a 9.1.

"I think we saw a lot of nerves on events and skills," Mikrut-Doyle said. "Hopefully, they can get this out of their system and got the first meet under their belt."

For Lake Forest, it was the second meet in a couple of weeks. The Scouts seem to be flirting with the 140 mark and showing a lot of improvement.

"Our girls are getting there in a lot of different ways," said Lake Forest coach Robin Strauss. "We've got some depth this year. If we can hit a few more things, we can go up a few more points."