Stevenson second at Meadows invite
The 29th annual Vic Avigliano Invitational was a test of team depth in boys gymnastics Saturday night at Rolling Meadows.
With each squad only allowed to enter one gymnast per event under the special scoring format, consistency was also a big factor as the winning team would need to string together six strong routines to capture the championship.
And 2009 state runner up Lincoln-Way co-op wound up being the class of the powerful 24-team meet as the No. 1-ranked Griffins rolled to the title with 54 points.
Stevenson showed why it should be a very dangerous team as the Patriots took runner-up honors with 50.25 points despite not having the services of elite senior Lukasz Adamczyk for the meet.
Conant had a very solid showing with a third-place score of 48.85 points as the Cougars nipped Wheaton co-op (48.85) in fourth place.
The battle for fifth place was also close, with Addison Trail holding off sixth-place Fremd 46.75 to 46.4. Palatine (46.25) also had a strong showing out of the Mid-Suburban League in seventh place, while Glenbard East (45.2), the host Mustangs (44.85) and 2009 state champion Glenbard North (43.65) rounded out the top 10.
"We got to pull out some of our specialists today and they responded pretty well," said Lincoln-Way coach Skim Adamson. "Our schedule is set up to where we will see most of the top-ranked teams this season and that is why this meet is so great."
Rolling Meadows senior John Scallon showed why he is considered one of the state's top pommel horse competitors. Scallon, who tied for fourth in the state on horse as a junior, edged Addison Trail's Matt Foster 9.6 to 9.5 for first place.
"There are so many freshmen that are competing now so that gives me more competition, but it is more motivation for me to really work hard," Scallon said. "I can win it (state) if I do a smart routine and I just have to have good technique."
Libertyville finished 19th in the team standings and may have lost senior Jamie Kadonsky to a shin injury on vault. But Wildcats junior Craig Breckenridge took home the floor exercise crown with a 9.5 to topple Fremd's Dave Allison (9.2) in second and Palatine's Mike Abram (8.95) in third.
"I'm extremely happy, and it was one of the best routines I've ever done especially for a really big meet like this," said Breckenridge. "Last year I averaged a little lower on floor and it's actually the same exact routine as last year. But I'm doing it cleaner and I have more power."
tevenson's Alex Hoersten rolled to the parallel bars title with a 9.6, and teammate Mike Wilner (9.5) placed second to Glenbard North's Jesus Soto (9.6) on still rings. Mike Borgeson added a second-place 8.95 for the Patriots on vault, while teammate Scott Siegel (8.4) placed third on high bar.
"I am extremely pleased with what we've been doing and our freshman Jonah (Mancino) stepped up on floor exercise," said Stevenson coach Mike Farina. "Wilner did a great routine on still rings even though he had a little trouble on his landing."
Freshman Joey Mauk was one of Conant's leaders with a third-place 9.2 on still rings, and teammate Steve Rink (7.9) placed fourth on high bar.
"Some of the best teams are here, so for us to place in the top three is just outstanding for us," said Conant coach Paul Kim. "We're still cleaning up our routines, but our difficulty is there so we just need to show good form without many deductions."
Besides Soto's first-place on still rings, Ryan Kennedy placed sixth for the Panthers on pommel horse.
"We're still missing a lot of routines that we should be hitting, but we have a fair amount of injuries to our varsity guys," said Glenbard North coach Mike Crissie. "We had to bring up a freshman and a sophomore to compete today and Lincoln-Way has some really good routines and some really good skills."
Palatine's Steve Repking added a third-place 8.9 on vault to edge Elk Grove's R.J. Nichimoto (8.85) in fourth and Buffalo Grove's Erik Balko (8.8) in fifth.
York's Caleb Strejc and Rolling Meadows' Marc Herff (9.0) tied for third place on parallel bars, while Fremd's Brandon Trostrud (8.7) placed fifth. Palatine's Damian Przystal took fifth on high bar.