Glenbard North picks up where it left off

It might be a new boys gymnastics season but the defending state champions keep on winning.

After opening the season with a victory in last Friday's Vic Lesch Invitational, Glenbard North took care of business on its own turf on Thursday, winning the District 87 Invite with a 131.4. Glenbard East placed second with a 128.6, followed by Glenbard West's 111.6 and Glenbard South's 98.3.

While the Panthers saw three of their leaders graduate last spring, the team has plenty of reasons to remain excited, namely Ryan Kennedy and Jesus Soto, as well as Eric Dluzen, Jacob Peterson and Jared Vandenack.

Kennedy placed second in the all-around with a 44.6 to lead the Panthers. He was second in the floor exercise, vault and horizontal bar and third on pommel horse.

"Ryan is still getting a bit more mature and he's matured a lot already since last year," Glenbard North coach Michael Crissie said. "We're expecting a lot out of him this season."

Soto competed in three events, winning still rings with an 8.9 and taking second on pommel horse and third on vault. Dluzen posted the third-highest all-around total with a 38.9 and took third on still rings. Peterson was third on parallel bars and Vandenack was fourth on pommel horse.

"We're still missing a couple of guys, and we need to add more difficulty," Crissie said. "Once we have a full healthy team I think we'll go up a lot."

Glenbard East's Kirk Jackson made quite the statement by winning five events, including the all-around with a 53.4. Jackson placed 18th in the state in the all-around last May when he scored a 51.05.

"I was kind of disappointed in my rings routine because it wasn't what it was supposed to be," he said. "Other than that I felt I did well on all the other events."

Jackson had a 9.1 on pommel horse and a pair of 9.2s on vault and floor to lead a Rams team that looks to be vastly improved this spring.

The Rams also received a pair of fourth-place finishes on floor exercise and vault from John Lodywick, a couple of fifth-place efforts on pommel horse and horizontal bar from Bryan Delprado and a fifth place on still rings from Sunny Serrano.

"Kirk is a great backbone to have and the other guys file into place," Glenbard East coach Lee Wood said. "We hit the ground running and I couldn't be happier. It puts Glenbard East on the map, and I look forward to the rest of the year."

The highlight of the night for Glenbard West came from Kyle Smith who tied for first place on parallel bars with an 8.9.

"We changed his set because the set here doesn't go to the maximum height you're allowed," Glenbard West coach Frank Novakoski said. "But it worked out well for him."

Smith also found success on horizontal bar where he took third. Eh Do Lwei was the only other Hilltopper to finish in the top five in any event as the junior took fifth place on parallel bars.

"We practiced all week knowing it was a first meet and that it would be a little bit choppy," Novakoski said. "We worked through the first half kind of rough. We talked before the second half and they definitely improved their routines which was good."

Glenbard South's Tom DiCarlo finished in the top 10 in all six events in securing fourth place in the all-around with a 37.9. The junior placed third in the floor exercise and fourth on vault and horizontal bar. AJ Distefano took sixth on horizontal bar and tied for seventh on vault and parallel bars."

"There were mistakes and we're not quite where we want to be right now," Glenbard South coach Steve Young said. "Can't wait to get back to practice."