Fifth straight regional title for Glenbard North
Glenbard North hosted a girls gymnastics regional for the fifth consecutive year on Monday night in Carol Stream.
More significantly, the Panthers won their fifth straight regional title.
The Panthers finished comfortably ahead of runner-up Lake Park, 143.525 to 132.925. Batavia was third with a 123.675 and Fenton placed fourth with a 104.375.
Glenbard North advances to the Lake Park sectional next Tuesday.
Junior Amanda Quinn won the all-around to lead the Panthers, scoring a 36.4 in her first career regional. Senior Christina Rini returned from injury and placed second in the all-around with a 36.325.
“The team did really well overall. We didn’t have a lot of falls, so it was one of our best meets in that way,” Quinn said. “I personally had a few mistakes, but it happens and I moved on. I finished up with a good floor routine.”
Quinn won vault with a 9.550 and floor with a 9.5. She was second on bars with an 8.875. She took seventh on beam with a 8.475 but the Panthers didn’t have to count her score as Melissa Colao, Rini, Karli Gaines and Bailey Collins posted the four best scores on beam in the regional.
“Everyone picks each other up on this team,” Rini said. “If someone has a wobble or mistake we all help each other recoup and move on, and then we just try to do better on whatever we have next.”
Heading into regionals with her body aching for an ice bath is nothing new to Rini. Last year she was battling a calf injury on one leg and a sore ankle on the other. On Monday she finally made a full return to the all-around after being sidelined with an ankle injury.
“I was kind of on the edge of not knowing for sure what I was going to be able to do,” Rini said. “But I wasn’t going to miss this whole regional and sectional process for the world. I can’t miss for a chance to go to state again, even if I had to have a cast.”
Colao won beam for the Panthers with a 9.5. Gaines was second on vault with a 9.175 and third on floor and beam. Collins, who is only a freshman, placed fifth in the all-around with a 33.850 to also help the Panthers.
“We’re all pretty comfortable when we’re at regionals knowing we’re going to do really well and have a good chance of going to sectional,” Rini. “It’s really good knowing we’re going and it’s just one step at a time.”
Lake Park will be scoreboard watching the rest of the week and hoping it can secure one of the at-large team qualifiers. A few Lancers will move onto the sectional regardless if the team makes it or not. Jessica Lewis took fourth in the all-around with a 33.9 and on floor with an 8.95. Sofia Tobon was fourth on bars with an 8.25 and Kayla Goodwin had fifth-place finishes on bars with an 8.875 and beam with an 8.675.
Batavia’s Sarah Ganster and Brittany Wahlen finished in fourth and fifth place respectively on vault to advance as individuals to sectional play. Ganster had a 9.0 and Wahlen scored an 8.8. Teammate Meggan Hagemann placed sixth with an 8.6 and remains alive for an at-large bid.
Sarah Polvi didn’t forget her struggles a season ago in the Glenbard North regional. She responded with third place in the all-around with a 34.2. The junior also was third on vault with a 9.1 while freshman teammate Taylor Patton advanced on bars with an 8.150.
“Last year I did terrible and didn’t make it to sectionals on anything so I wanted to make it on something this year,” Polvi said. “My vault was good and my bars wasn’t so good because I fell, but I picked it up on floor and beam.”