Scouting DuPage County girls gymnastics
Top teams: Glenbard North, Glenbard West, Hinsdale Central, Naperville North, Neuqua Valley, Waubonsie Valley/Metea Valley co-op.
Top individuals: Megan Brennan (Glenbard West, Jr., beam, floor, vault), Danielle Christy (Waubonsie/Metea Valley co-op, Sr., all-around), Elizabeth Ciesielski (Wheaton Warrenville South, Sr., all-around), Emily Costenaro (Glenbard East, Sr., all-around), Ashley Ellis (Glenbard South, Jr., all-around), Caley Falkner (Naperville Central, Sr., all-around), Carolyn Filarski (Naperville North, Sr., bars, beam), Amber Fox (Glenbard North, Sr., all-around), Kristen Grilli (Hinsdale Central, So., all-around), Jessica Grzegorzewski (Addison Trail, So., all-around), Missy Guzman (Glenbard West, So., all-around), Rachel Haake (Downers Grove South, Sr., all-around), Josie Haxton (Willowbrook, Sr., all-around), Michelle Kohout (Glenbard South, Sr., all-around), Megan McKenna (Naperville North, Jr., all-around), Catherine Miller (Neuqua Valley, Sr., all-around), Becky Mladucky (Glenbard West, Jr., all-around), Paulina Rante (Hinsdale South, Sr., all-around), Christina Rini (Glenbard North, Jr., all-around), Leah Tarabour (Hinsdale Central, Jr., all-around), Kristina Terry (Wheaton co-op, Jr., all-around), Sarah Udelhofen (Glenbard West, Sr., beam, floor, vault, Erin Usher (Hinsdale Central, Jr., all-around).
Outlook: Glenbard West has increased its difficulty and appears to be the area's team to beat this winter. The Hilltoppers will be vying to do more than qualify for their eighth consecutive sectional, they'll be trying to go downstate for the first time since 2005. Junior Becky Mladucky leads the Hilltoppers, but they will rely on a full team of gymnasts, with state experience also coming from Sarah Udelhofen, Missy Guzman and Megan Brennan, and great contributions expected from junior Shannon Dietz, sophomores Kinnari Badger, Shauna Gialluisi and Nicole Pagor and freshman Abby Garchitorena. "We're definitely excited and much hungrier," coach Carlos Fuentes said. "We've been very strong the last few years but so young, and now we have the perfect blend of experience and really have the numbers to take that next step." The Hilltoppers will be well-tested, competing in the West Suburban Conference Silver Division against Hinsdale Central and Lyons Twp., two state qualifying teams a year ago who look to have the personnel to return there again.
Former St. Charles co-op coach Lindsay Schultz takes over at Glenbard North. While inheriting a team that finished third in the state last year, this year's squad lacks the same depth with Marissa Bosco and Amy Wolf graduating and Emily Ryan choosing not to compete. Still, with Amber Fox and Christina Rini returning, along with the acquisition of freshman Mariah Mates, the Panthers should still be tough to beat. Waubonsie Valley is now Waubonsie Valley/Metea Valley co-op. If senior Danielle Christy can stay healthy, the team could be very successful. "We're looking pretty good from the start," co-coach Ashley Abruscato said. "Emily Kelly is competing for the first time since sixth grade, and Jess Malon is looking good as a freshman."
Naperville North has nearly 50 gymnasts in its program, and the numbers should translate into a good campaign. Carolyn Filarski is back and will focus solely on bars and beam, while Oswego transfer Morgan McKenna and senior Kayla Kinder should lead the Huskies. Kinder wasn't on the team during her first three years of high school. "With the depth we have we should be able to get more out of the kids," Huskies coach Chris Stanicek said. "We can do more than all-around and piece together a solid team."
Christine Clark is back for her second stint as head coach at Neuqua Valley. With senior Catherine Miller back, along with fellow seniors Ashley Nelson and Aisha Jones, the Wildcats should be very competitive. Wheaton Warrenville South and Glenbard East both return a good amount of experience and should enjoy some of their finest seasons of late. The numbers aren't down at Naperville Central, but the experience is, so the Redhawks are going to need some time to put up competitive scores. It should be fun to compare their early-season totals to those in January.
"We're going to be down this year, but I always tell them it's not how you start but how you finish," Naperville Central coach Glen Reimers said. "There's going to be a lot of learning and trying put in new skills." Wheaton North lost state-qualifier Angie Cronk and several others to cheerleading and is starting over, while teams like Glenbard South and Addison Trail have some talent in place but a lack of depth will make in difficult to find consistency. In addition to the many outstanding newcomers this season, six area schools have new head coaches in place.
Top meets: Big Purple Invite at Downers Grove North, Dec. 5; Candy Cane Invite at Hersey, Dec. 12; Illinois Best Invite at Wheaton Warrenville South, Dec. 19; Maine West Invite, Dec. 29; Panther Invite at Oswego, Dec. 29; Glenbard West vs. Hinsdale Central, Jan. 6; Naperville Central vs. Naperville North, Jan. 14; Fremd Invite, Jan. 16; Neuqua Valley Invite, Jan. 16; District 87 Meet, Jan. 16; York Invite, Jan. 23, UEC Meet, Jan. 29, DVC Meet, Jan. 29, WSC Silver Meet, Jan. 30.