Wochinski steadies Fremd’s approach

It has been anything but smooth sailing for the Fremd girls gymnastic team this season.

The Vikings are used to success, having qualified for the state meet 25 times, securing a total of 20 state trophies, including 12 state titles.

This year has been a season of adjustments for Fremd, but luckily the Vikings have had senior Maegan Wochinski to anchor their attack.

Wochinski has been a four-year member of the varsity attack. She was part of the 2008 state title team and a key member of last year’s squad that finished third.

This year Wochinski has helped steady the Vikings’ attack after injuries put a serious drag on their season.

“She’s a very strong all-arounder,” said Fremd coach Jim Guest of his senior leader. “She comes in and gets down to business at practice, going about her work quietly. She leads by example.

“Then she goes out and does it at the meets. The team kind of follows that example.”

Fremd has had its share of injuries, including setbacks to senior Alyssia Van Duch, junior Stephanie Uhrich and sophomore Shannon Lemajeur. But Wochinski has answered the call.

The senior has followed in a great line of all-arounders, including Mary Burke (2008), Tori Sarantakis (2009), and Caitlin Golota (2010).

“You’re doing every single event,” said Wochinski of the all-arounder responsibilities. “If you do badly in one event you can’t let it affect the rest of your performance.”

And Wochinski did just that at the Fremd Invitational on Jan. 15. The senior had a fall on the bars, but came back to take first on the beam (9.5) and floor (9.55) to take second in the all-around and lift the Vikings to the title with a season-best mark of 146.875.

“I did not want to give up,” said Wochinski. “So I tried 10 times harder on the beam and 10 times harder on the floor because I wanted to help our team score.”

That type of performance does not go unnoticed by a young Fremd team that has four sophomores and one freshman contributing to its attack.

“She’s a really good leader,” said sophomore Stephanie Gallo of Wochinski. “In the gym you can look at her and see what she is doing, and you should be doing the same. She gets in and gets her stuff done — she motivates you.”

Wochinski and fellow seniors Van Duch and Kelsey Onesto also helped the Vikings answer their biggest test of the season to date.

Schaumburg served Fremd a wake-up call Jan. 4 at the Conant triangular by nipping the Vikings 140.45-139.95 and securing the Mid-Suburban West Division title.

“Our season was at a crossroads,” said Guest of the Vikings’ narrow defeat. “We could have gone in a couple of different directions … They chose the right path.”

The seniors challenged the younger Vikings in practice and the team responded by posting three of its four best scores in the ensuing meets.

“I felt that we thought that we’d just automatically make it,” said Van Duch, who despite suffering a season-ending ACL injury in December has added valuable leadership to the Vikings. “We did a lot more routines in practice and didn’t let anyone get away with missing. We made sure everyone finished their routines.”

“It was a huge wake-up call for all of us,” said Wochinski. “Practice has really paid off and we feel really good about it. We know we can do better as a team.”

Fremd’s late-season surge has the Vikings poised for a strong postseason run, but the path offers a serious challenge.

Fremd will be seeking its 22nd and third consecutive MSL title on Friday night at Rolling Meadows starting at 6 p.m.

Then the Vikings will be seeking their 19th consecutive state appearance at the Stevenson sectional when the state series kicks off next week

The Stevenson sectional is loaded, featuring four of the top five teams in the state, ranked according to best scores. Fremd has the fifth-best score in the state this season, 146.875.

“It seems like every year people just expect us to make it,” said Onesto. “This year we really have to earn our spot. It’s going to be tough and every meet matters.”

But a deep Viking team that includes juniors Elizabeth Uhrich, Stephanie Uhrich, sophomore Stephanie Gallo, Anna Johnson, Shannon Lemajeur, and Emily Pinderski, along with freshman Christine Jensen is ready to meet the challenge.

“I know it’s there,” said Guest. “We’re taking it meet by meet. We continue to improve and we’re looking to get better.”

“I like where we are coming out of the month better than where we were coming into the month.”

Wochinski says one of the Fremd squad’s favorite post-meet songs is “Don’t Stop Believing,” by Journey.

Wochinski and the Vikings have never stopped believing, and now they are hoping their faith will be rewarded.

“I think I’m ready and I feel everyone else is ready too,” added Wochinski. “We have bits and pieces everywhere — it’s all a matter of pulling it together.”