Fremd's DiGangi places second on floor exercise
There was very little room for error Saturday night at the 58th annual IHSA state boys gymnastics finals at Lincoln-Way East.
While no area gymnast brought home an individual crown, Fremd senior Dante Digangi came very close after posting a second-place 9.55 on floor exercise.
Wheaton North co-op's Tim Krueger win the title with a 9.65 while the Mid-Suburban West really shined behind Schaumburg senior Stephen Long's third-place 9.45.
"I'm happy because that ws probably the best floor set I have ever thrown and second place is a big achievement for me," Digangi said. "It's always been a dream of mine to win state but second place is pretty good, too."
Long was the second-to-last qualifier for the finals from the afternoon preliminary round, but he made the most of his opportunity.
"I barely got out of the sectional so my goal was to get to the final today," Long said. "I didn't even think about placing in the top five but it was my best routine by far."
Barrington's Kellen O'Connor was also a medal winner with 9.3 to tie for fifth on the floor.
The first rotation also saw another area gymnast capture a medal as Rolling Meadows John Scallon (9.1) tied for fourth on the pommel horse.
"I finished my routine without a fall but I left out some things," Scallon said "I'm not as happy as I could be but I'm happy to get a medal."
UIC-bound Stevenson senior Bryan Pusateri closed out his career on a high note as he took home a fourth-place medal with a 9.35 on still rings along with a fifth-place medal by tying for fifth on vault (9.3).
"It's a great way for him to finish even though he has had a rough year for injuries," said Stevenson coach Mike Farina. "Bryan represented our school and himself all four years with extreme pride and he is just a class act."
After placing ninth in the all-around competition with an 8.83 average in preliminaries, Palatine senior Andre Gatorano tied for sixth on high bar (9.2) and finished tenth on floor.
Conant's Clinton Martin placed seventh on vault with a 9.25 to edge Palatine's Eric Floberg (9.2) in eighth. Palatine's Luke Schuster added a seventh-place 8.95 on parallel bars.
"It's the most guys we have ever had in the finals, and it's nice to have more in the mix this year," said Palatine coach Scott Hagel. "Andre finished in the top ten in the all-around and he didn't have any big mistakes so he was able to stay in the top ten in a really tough field."
After placing first in the prelims with a 9.4 on vault, Mundelein sophomore Scott Marthinsen missed his landing in the finals to settle for an 8.85.
Conant's Anthony Crivolio placed 19th in the all-around, followed by Prospect's Joe Napoleon (21st), Stevenson's Mike Wilner (tie for 22nd), Conant's Steve Rink (24th) and Libertyville's Craig Breckenridge (tie for 26th).
Elk Grove had four qualifiers but senior Kamil Nytko could not to compete in his three events after a shoulder injury in practice on Wednesday.
"Darryl (Tan) did a nice job on his pommel horse routine and Mike (Jachura) had a good routine with an 8.9 on floor." said retiring Elk Grove coach Bill Watts after his 30th and final state meet. "I'm really going to miss being here with the gymnasts, seeing them hit routines, and all of the people I've known through gymnastics over the years.