Schaumburg wins first MSL title

Last year Schaumburg just missed securing its first Mid-Suburban League girls gymnastics title, taking second to Fremd by .775 points.

This year, there was no stopping the Saxons.

Junior Ashley Miller won her second MSL all-around title (37.388) and led Schaumburg to its first MSL team title with a school-record 146.013 points Friday night at Rolling Meadows.

Defending MSL champion Fremd took second with 144.275 points followed by Prospect (143.30), Palatine (142.425) and Barrington (139.325).

Schaumburg fell behind Fremd by 1.95 points after the vault, which was the first event, but the Saxons hit a 37.75 on bars, the second event, and kept the momentum going for the final two event to nail down the victory.

“We believed in ourselves,” said Schaumburg coach Jami Stilling. “The vault didn’t start the way we wanted it to, but I’m proud how they came back on the bars and kept the momentum going.”

Miller was consistent all night taking third on the bars (9.6), fourth on the vault (9.375), and fifth on the beam (9.363), also adding a 9.050 on the floor.

“This is what we’ve been working for all year,” said Miller, who started the year slowly but has come on strong at the end. “I’ve kept progressing and I’m getting the momentum back from where I was last year.”

Senior Brooke Shimon shook off two falls on the beam to secure first place on the bars (9.65) and added a third place on the floor (9.4) in helping lift the Saxons.

“The vault gave us a good shock,” said Shimon, “We know we can hit under pressure and we were able to pull it out. It’s crazy this was our goal. Now we just have to keep it going.”

Sophomore Erin Barrett injected the Saxons with power surge by taking third on the beam (9.4) and senior Caitlin Barrett tied for fourth on the bars (9.35).

“We’ve been working real hard in practice and came into this meet with a lot of confidence,” added Erin Barrett.

A promising start for Fremd quickly evaporated when the Vikings misfired on the bars and beam.

The Vikings took the top three spots on the vault in scoring a 37.435, but 9 falls combined on the bars and beam allowed the Saxons to surge ahead.

“We just can’t seem to put a complete meet together,” said Fremd coach Jim Guest. “Nevertheless, Schaumburg is a better team, they showed it at the beginning of the month and now they showed it at the end.”

Senior Maegan Wochinski took second in the all-around (37.15) adding a first on the vault (9.475) and a second on the bars (9.625).

Sophomore Stephanie Gallo (9.425) and freshman Christine Jensen (9.4) went 2-3 on the vault.

“We did really well on the vault and felt really good,” Wochinski said. “We needed practice under pressure, and from here on out there is no more practice.”

Senior Kelsey Onesto took second for the Vikings on beam (9.475) with junior Stephanie Uhrich tying for fourth on the bars (9.35), and junior Elizabeth Uhrich taking fifth on floor (9.25).

“It’s tough getting second but we know we have the potential,” said Onesto, “ We just haven’t put everything together yet.”

Prospect freshman Gianna Scala took fourth in the all-around (36.625) and took first on the floor (9.55). Sophomore Meggie Kania added a fourth-place finish on the floor (9.325) as the Knights set a school scoring record.

“Floor is my favorite event and it was the last event of the night,” added Scala, who hit her first pass and kept building through the rest of her routine. “I just wanted to go out with something big, it was good.”

Palatine sophomore Nicole Kuksuk took third in the all-around (36.875) and was first on the beam (9.525).

“I feel like now when I have my downs I need to bring it back up,” said Kuksuk of her performance. “I’m feeling more comfortable and I think the team did well tonight in picking each other up”

Senior Lexi Marsella continued a strong season by taking fifth in the all-around (36.525) and adding a fourth place finish on the beam (9.375) to help aid Barrington.

“I definitely had a lot of adrenaline, it’s just a matter of controlling it,” said Marsella of her solid work on the beam. “I definitely was in my zone.”

Elk Grove freshman Amelia Rafferty took second on the floor (9.425). Conant freshman Brie Bibel captured fifth on the vault (9.30).