Kuksuk, Alden lead Palatine to victory
Palatine sophomore duo Nicole Kuksuk and Abby Alden gave the Pirates a powerful 1-2 punch in Wednesday night's Mid-Suburban League triangular crossover.
The 5-foot-1 Kuksuk and the 5-2 Alden stood tall in leading the host Pirates to an impressive victory on senior night with 138.25 points.
Barrington took second with 130.55 points followed by Rolling Meadows (124.65 points).
The beam has given teams fits to start the new year, but Kuksuk and Alden were immune to the pressures, tying for first with an impressive 9.25.
“We've been working a lot on the numbers and being consistent,” said Kuksuk, who also took first in the all-around (36.95), bars (9.1), and floor (9.35) and added a second on the vault (9.25). “I think that helps a lot and we're also getting more comfortable.”
“Beam is what we've been mainly working on,” said Alden, who took third in the all-around (34.25) and bars (8.7). “With more meets we're feeling more comfortable and we're getting the hang of everything.”
Senior Nicole Barba added third-place finishes on the vault (8.75) and floor (8.75), with sophomore Megan Hedstrom adding a second place-finish on the bars (8.8) to aid a solid Pirates attack.
“The younger kids are stepping up and figuring things out,” said Pirates coach Terry Theobald. “All the kids are adding new skills and picking things up. We're right there.”
Barrington is also on the move — especially Lexi Marsella. The senior continued a strong season by taking second in the all-around (35.60) to lead Barrington. She also won vault (9.3), took second on the floor (8.85), and third on the beam (8.85).
“She's just made for the sport. There's not a lot she can't do,” said Barrington coach Jason Loeffler of his senior star.
Junior Tori Brunet took fourth on the floor (8.6) for the Fillies.
Marsella and the Fillies are optimistic about the second half of the season and ready to make a move, especially with junior Tiffany Persels' imminent return to the lineup.
“We're definitely ready for a break through,” added Marsella, “We're just looking for the right time to put it all together.”
Junior Lauren Cerza took fifth on the vault (8.6) and freshman Rachel Anderson added fourth place on the beam (8.3) to lead Rolling Meadows.
“We were working on skill development during the break, so we didn't spend a lot of time on routines,” said Rolling Meadow coach Michael Costa, “Now we're just looking to put it all together.”