Fremd, Prospect clinch

Fremd's girls gymnastics team has been hitting on all cylinders since Christmas break, and the Vikings didn't slow down at Tuesday's Mid-Suburban League West triangular at Barrington.

Junior Maegan Wochinski took first in the all-around (36.8) leading Fremd to the victory with 145.9 points and securing the program's fourth consecutive MSL West Division title.

Freshman Nicole Kuksuk took third in the all-around, leading Palatine (140.55) to second, with host Barrington (135.1) taking third.

Fremd has had an impressive start to the New Year, also scoring a season-high 148.55 last Thursday and hitting 146.725 on Saturday at the Lincoln-Way East Invite.

What makes it even more impressive is the depth the Vikings have shown, using a number of different lineups.

"We've come out of break really strong, and it's encouraging to see," said Fremd coach Jim Guest of the Vikings' performance. "I've been trying to rotate different gymnasts in and out, and we've had a lot of kids step up."

It was Wochinski's turn to step up on Tuesday. The junior started the season with a hamstring injury but has been solid the past week.

Wochinski added a first on the beam (9.25) and tied for first on the vault (9.3), adding a second on the floor (9.5).

"Coming back I was a little slow," said Wochinski of her early season injury. "But now I'm back into it and my confidence has been going up."

"She's been coming out like gangbusters," said Guest. "We just need to keep it going."

Wochinski had plenty of help from a deep Viking squad, as sophomore Stephanie Uhrich took second in the all-around (36.5), taking first on the floor (9.55) and third on the bars (9.05) and tying for third on the vault (9.1).

Senior Caitlin Golota added a first on the bars (9.35) and a tied teammate Alyssia VanDuch for second on the beam (9.15). Freshman Emily Pinderski took third on floor (9.25).

With the state series quickly approaching, the Vikings are peaking at the right time.

"We just have to go meet by meet," said Wochinski. "We can't get ahead of ourselves."

Palatine suffered a blow when junior Nicole Barba suffered an injury on her first vault attempt, but the Pirates were able to rebound, hitting their second highest score of the season.

Kuksuk supplied the power by taking second on both the bars (9.25) and vault (9.25).

"It kind of shook the whole team up," said Kuksuk of Barba's injury. "But we figured we had to go out there and do our best, doing what we know."

Autumn Peterson added a third-place finish for the Pirates on the beam (8.85).

Hannah Heider came up big for host Barrington. The sophomore tied for first on the vault (9.3) and also hit on the floor (9.1).

The Fillies were missing sophomore Tiffany Persels, who was resting an injured knee, and junior Lexi Marsella and sophomore Tori Brunet saw limited action.

"We've had quite a few injuries," said Heider, who has lifted the Fillies' attack. "I feel like I have improved a lot since last year, especially on the vault and floor."

Ciara Tyrell tied for third on the vault (9.1) for the Fillies.

Prospect takes East: Prospect is at full strength, and it showed at Tuesday night's MSL East triangular.

Sophomore Lauren Johnson (36.65) and senior Katie Colmone (36.05) went 2-3 in the all-around to lead the Knights to their seventh consecutive East Division title with a season-high 142 points in Mount Prospect.

Hersey took second with 136.55 points, followed by Buffalo Grove (131.45).

"We're cooking and everything is coming together," said Prospect coach Julian Bassler of the Knights' victory. "We knew we had it coming."

Prospect started the evening by going 5-for-5 on the vault and hitting a school-record 37.3, with Johnson taking second with a 9.5. Colmone and Sarah Pekar tied for third on the vault (9.3).

"All the girls hit vault and that got the momentum going," said Bassler of the Knights' first event.

Colmone only participated in two events early in the season, but the senior is once again back in the all-around and has given the Knights a lift. She took first on the floor (9.2) and added a second on the bars (9.4).

Johnson added a second on the beam (9.3) and tied for third on the bars (8.9), giving the Knights a 1-2 punch.

Katie Dewar took second on the floor (9.1) and added a pair of third-place finishes on bars (8.9) and beam (8.55) to lead Hersey.

Linda Dunne took first in the all-around (37.10) to lead Buffalo Grove. The senior took first on the vault (9.55), bars (9.5), and beam (9.35) to pace the Bison.