Seplowin, Stevenson win at Oswego invite

Stevenson gymnast Chelsie Seplowin stuck her vault irrefutably to conclude her team's efforts during Tuesday's 12th Annual Oswego Panther Invitational.

Still, the senior wanted to give it another try. The Patriots had already wrapped up the victory-the team's fourth invitational title already this winter-and she had posted an impressive 9.7 score to boost Stevenson to a 145.725 total.

"I wanted to go again," Seplowin said. "When you stick the first one and then stick it again a second time it sometimes can increase your score. So I wanted to give it another shot but (coach Judy Harwood) asked 'Why?'"

Of course, Seplowin and Harwood, as well as the rest of the Patriots, aren't resting on their laurels. After finishing in second place in the state last February, they have their eyes set on a state championship prize, and Tuesday was another opportunity to improve.

"We're always looking to get better and today we tried some new skills and fell a lot," Seplowin said. "From a developmental standpoint this was a nice win and we're going to try to keep adding new things and getting better. We want to break 150 this year and be ready for February."

In addition to her win on vault, Seplowin won beam (9.45) and tied for first with teammate Shana Manning on bars (8.9). She edged Batavia's Rachel Besic in the all-around, 36.875 to 36.65. Manning took third in all-around (36.350) and Stephanie Wojton won the floor exercise (9.5) for the Patriots.

Sprained ankles and knees might have hindered Glenbard West a bit, but it only forced the Hilltoppers to water down some of their routines, as they were talented enough to capture second place with a 139.475.

Sarah Udelhofen took third on beam for Glenbard West, while freshman Missy Guzman was fourth in the floor exercise and Shannon Dietz and Shauna Gialluisi tied for fifth on bars.

"Overall I was pleased with how the girls did," Glenbard West coach Carlos Fuentes said. "It's been a little crazy with the time off, but we were able to add some new vaults and release on bars today and once we get some ice packs and back to practice we'll get right back where we need to be."

Besic finished in the top three in every event except beam to help Batavia take third place with a 136.725.

"It was a solid meet for me," she said. "I just wanted to come out and do well. We had some mishaps overall but I thought we all worked hard and tried to put those behind us."

One of those mishaps occurred when the judges disqualified Becca Thone's floor exercise routine. Thone dazzled on beam earlier, where she finished second with a 9.3.

"The DQ wasn't something we expected, but things happen," Besic said. "We need to forget our falls and mistakes and keep moving forward."

One thing that lies ahead for Batavia is next Monday's Tri-City meet against St. Charles Co-op and Geneva. The Vikings struggled with a 126.725 for seventh place. Kaitlyn Kanarowski took sixth in the all-around (34.45) for the Vikings.

"We're working a lot of things and you could see that today," Geneva coach Kim Hostman said. "We had an unheard of amount of falls on floor, 5 of 5, so hopefully we can straighten some things out in practice before (the Tri-city meet).

Emily Cook had an 8.375 on bars and 8.7 on beam to help Wheaton Warrenville South take fifth place (131.425).

Jordyn Hargreaves scored a 9.225 on vault for Glenbard East. The Rams closed the Invitational with a 125.9.