Palatine, Barrington claim regional crowns
Palatine coach Terry Theobald didn't quite know what to expect from his team at Friday's girls gymnastics regional.
The Pirates limped into the competition with an array of injuries, but left with a bounce in their step.
Senior Sam Saltess and sophomore Nicole Barba went 1-2 in the all around to lead host Palatine to its 12th regional title with 136.775.
Lake Park (132.175) took second followed by Maine South (128.175) and Maine West (95.65).
Palatine joins Prospect, Fremd and Rolling Meadows as automatic team qualifiers at next Tuesday's Lake Park sectional, which will start at 6:30 p.m.
Conant and Niles West qualified with at-large bids.
"I told the kids we can give up or go out and see what we can do," said Theobald whose team won its sixth straight regional title. "They came through."
Saltess took first in the all-around (36.175); vault (9.20), bars (8.925), and floor (9.275) and she added a second place finish on the beam (8.775) to propel the Pirates.
"Everyone stepped up and did what they had to do," said Saltess of the Pirates performance. "We kicked it into gear."
Barba kicked it into gear by securing second in the all-around (35.125) placing third on the vault (9.0), bars (8.85), beam (8.6), and floor (8.675).
Palatine started the meet with a 35.20 on the bars, taking 4 of the top 5 spots. Freshman Marissa Mallon returned from an ankle injury to secure fourth on bars (8.75) and sophomore Mallory Fisher returned from surgery on both ankles to take fifth on the bars (8.675).
"That was just how we wanted to come out," said Barba of the Pirates' opening set. "We were scrambling for people all week, but we pulled it off."
Senior Melissa Horgan and junior Ashley Nelson went 4-5 in the all around to lead Lake Park to second place.
"I thought we had a very solid effort," said Lake Park coach Keith Matune. "Melissa (Horgan) has done the job for us all four years and she came out and had a wonderful meet."
Horgan took second on the vault (9.125) and floor (8.725), and senior Silvana Perri added a fifth-place finish on the vault (8.9) with freshman Brianne Durante taking fifth on the beam (8.15) to pace the Lancers.
"It was one of my strongest vaults ever," said Horgan, who stuck it on her first attempt. "I'm a senior so it's one last shot for state."
Michelle Madalinski took first on the beam (9.075) to lead Maine West. The freshman added a second on bars (8.9) and fifth on the floor (8.45) for the Warriors.
"I wasn't concerned about the competition, I just knew what I had to do," said Madalinski, who was third in the all-around (34.975). "I did better than I thought I would do."
At Lake Forest: Senior Laura Sculley won all four events and the all-around and Barrington won its second straight regional title and 10th overall with a 141.525.
Sculley won the vault (9.6), bars (9.225), beam (9.3) and floor (9.325) en route to 37.45 in the all-around. Sophomore teammate Lexi Marsella took third in the all-around with 35.4 as she was fourth on vault (9.325) and bars (8.625).
Freshman Tiffany Persels was fourth on floor (9.05) and fifth on vault (8.95) and freshman Tori Brunet was second on bars (8.8) as they qualified for Thursday's Stevenson sectional.