Conant edges Wheaton co-op in another close Krupke
The Ralph Krupke Invitational at Lake Park has been especially competitive and entertaining in recent years.
A season after Wheaton co-op and Downers Grove North tied for the title at 152.35, Conant squeezed past Wheaton co-op on Friday night, 150.250-150.210. Downers Grove North placed third with a 148.070.
"What a great meet," Lake Park coach Keith Matune said. "In its 39th year the Krupke Invite once again hosts a preview of some of the top teams in the state."
Conant was able to nip Wheaton co-op thanks to its three all-arounders and a few strong individual performances on particular events. Anthony Crivolio, who won vault with a 9.6 and parallel bars with a 9.0, placed third in the all-around with a 51.3. Joey Mauk won still rings with an 8.6 and scored a 48.35 in the all-around while Steven Rink posted a 48.15. Vinnie Gottardo added a 9.15 on vault, Brian Aites had a 7.9 on still rings and Abbas Musabji added a 7.9 on pommel horse to help the Cougars.
"We were hoping to be a 150-plus and we just made it," Conant coach Paul Kim said. "You never know how you are going to stack up against some of these teams until you're in the same gym with the same judges. Knowing that we were able come out on top, even though extremely close, I'm very pleased with how the boys performed today."
Wheaton co-op junior Darren Fill finished in the top three in every event except for high bar where he still medaled with a fourth place score of 8.6. Fill won the all-around with a 53 to lead Wheaton.
"Knowing that I'm able to help my team and allow my teammates to feel comfortable is a great feeling," Fill said. "We're all pretty happy but we know we still want to continue working hard and make improvements by getting back into the gym."
Wheaton received a fantastic floor-exercise routine from Mark Ciesielski that awarded him second place with a 9.6 while teammate Mike Brackman was strongest on high bar with an 8.8 that helped him tally a 50.05 in the all-around.
A bad combination of injuries and illnesses has plagued Naperville North this spring, but the Huskies have slowly been on the mend. They took fourth place with a 134.3.
"We've finally gotten everybody back so now we just need to hit our events," Naperville North coach Brad Foerch said. "We've got more difficulty and are throwing good stuff, but we just got to get to the point where we hit the routines."
The Huskies' lone all-arounder Billy Suta had a 45.4 while Kurt Hodges placed third on pommel horse with an 8.4 and Josh Sota took sixth in the floor exercise with a 9.25.
Mundelein closed with a 129.35 for fifth place. Scott Marthinsen paced the Mustangs, medaling on pommel horse, still rings and vault where he took second with a 9.3.
The host Lancers continued their rebuilding season with a seventh-place finish with a 109.7. Eric Bando took second on still rings with an 8.45.
"It's kind of like starting over, but we're making progress," Matune said. "It's not reflecting in the scores yet, but we're working on skills and it's good to see how we're doing and to see other great teams for inspiration."
Glenbard South finished in eighth place with a 99.2.