Boys gymnastics sectional preview
Glenbard North sectional
Where: Glenbard North High School (Carol Stream)
Time: 7 p.m. today
Teams: Conant, Elk Grove, Glenbard North, Hoffman Estates, Lake Park, Prospect, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, St. Charles North. Individuals only: Burlington Central.
Best score: St. Charles North put up a 158.8 on April 23, just slightly better than the 158.10 recorded by the host Panthers on March 24.
Local outlook: The top area hopeful is Prospect, which scored a season-high 147.70 (11th best in the state) to finish second at the Mid-Suburban League meet last Friday. Leading the way for coach Pat Kivland's Knights was senior Joe Napoleon, who took second-place honors in the all-around with a score of 50.05. Kivland said the 147.7 was a "good" score for the Knights, especially considering they did not have a top notch effort on the still rings, an event he said the team must improve on. Kivland believes it will take a score of close to 150 to make it to state." Conant was third in the MSL meet with a score of 143.65, which ranks 12th in the state. Coach Randy Smith relies heavily on sophomore Steve Rink (50.05), junior Anthony Crivolio (48.90) and senior Clinton Martin (42.50) who were third, fourth and ninth, respectively in the all-around to help the Cougars grab third place in their home gym. Meadows coach Chris Cassidy feels John Scallon, the pommel horse champ at the MSL meet with a 9.4, can improve on that. "A 9.6 of 9.7 is not out of the question," said the coach, who also features a talented all-arounder performer in Marc Herff, who was fifth at the MSL meet with a 46.90. Hoffman Estates top all-arounder was Brian Manadero, who recorded a 42.85 for eighth place. Elk Grove 's Bill Watts will be coaching at his final sectional. The 30-year veteran is retiring from teaching and coaching. His highest finisher at the conference meet was Mike Jachura with a third-place effort (8.2) in the still rings. Schaumburg's Jake Mager was 10th in the MSL all-around competition.
Palatine sectional
Where: Palatine High School
Time: 2 p.m. Saturday
Teams: Hersey, Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Highland Park, Libertyville, Stevenson, Mundelein, Fremd, Palatine; Individual only: St. Edward
Best Score: Palatine's 158.8 score recorded at the District 211 meet two weeks ago is just a notch below its best in school history (159.8 in 2007 when the Pirates won the state title). It is also the highest score posted this spring by any team in this sectional.
Local outlook: Palatine enters the sectional fresh off its fourth straight Mid-Suburban League title at Conant High School where the Pirates scored a 156.05. Senior Andre Gatorano helped spark the Pirates that night with his first-place all-around score of 52.55. He won the floor exercise (9.35) and the horizontal bar (8.8) and was second on the parallel bars (9.09) and vault (9.65). Teammate Luke Schuster won on the still rings (8.55) and was third on the parallel bars (8.95). Pirates David Irsay (9.25) and Dan Murphy (8.9) were second and third respectively on the pommel horse. Stevenson heads into the sectional trying to qualify for the Elite Eight for the first time since winning its third straight IHSA crown in 2004. With a season-high score of 153.4, the Patriots have a chance of earning one of the three at-large berths for the meet on May 16 at Lincoln Way East. U.I.C. bound senior Bryan Pusateri should be one the keys for the Patriots as he is still recovering from an ankle injury that has limited his ability to compete this spring. Pusateri competed on the still rings and high bar last week at the Independent Conference meet but the Pats hope he can also compete on the pommel horse and parallel bars Saturday. "One thing we need to work on is all of our landings,' said Stevenson coach Mike Farina. "I think we've got a good shot (at state), and we just have to hit our routines and get Pusateri back as much as we can." Junior all-arounder Lukasz Adamczyk has been a huge contributor for Stevenson, winning the conference meet with a 9.12 average. The Pats have good depth with sophomore Mike Wilner, sophomore Scott Siegel, and junior Dakota Heuer all competing in the all-around. Senior Bryan Epstein adds more depth and experience. After placing sixth in the state in 2007, Libertyville will be going all out to make a bid for the state meet. Sophomore all-arounder Craig Breckenridge and senior all-arounder Ashton Coulson lead the Wildcats with teammates Jamie Kadonsky and Zach Chapman giving coach Curt Austin's team a scoring lift on floor. Mundelein coach Jesse Piland hopes his young squad can peak behind sophomore all-arounder Scott Marthinsen and junior Mike Agosto. who both qualified for the 2008 state meet. Fremd, which had two gymnasts claim individual titles at the MSL meet - Brandon Trostrud in the parallel bars (9.10 and Dante Digangi in the vault (9.7) - owns a 135.60 for its best score of the spring. Trostrud was sixth in the all-around (46.70) while teammate Dave Allison was seventh (43.75). Buffalo Grove's top all-arounder was Eugene Blackmon who placed 12th with a 39.60