Fremd gets it together
Fremd and coach Jim Guest have been waiting to put the pieces together, and it all came together for the Vikings at Monday night’s Stevenson girls gymnastics sectional.
Senior Maegan Wochinski paced Fremd’s attack by taking sixth in the all-around (37.675), leading the Vikings to fourth place with 146.575 in Lincolnshire.
The four sectional winners automatically qualify for the IHSA state meet on Feb. 18 at Palatine. There will also be four at-large bids.
Fremd’s score puts them in good position to notch an at-large bid, but now the Vikings will have to wait until Thursday night’s final sectional at Niles North is complete to make it official.
“I think the team should feel very good about themselves,” said Guest of the Vikings, who notched their second-best score of the season and now will be seeking their 19th consecutive trip to state. “They continued to battle throughout the series and things are finally coming together.”
The Stevenson sectional lived up to its hype with defending state champion Carmel taking first with 151.60 points, followed by the host Patriots (148.925 points), and Lake Forest (147.60).
Prairie Ridge co-op (144.975) took fifth, with Palatine (143.625 points) taking sixth with a season-best score.
Prairie Ridge co-op senior Jenny Covers took first in the all-around (38.875) and bars (9.825). Covers tied Carmel junior Kristin Mirski for first on the beam (9.625).
Carmel sophomore Lauren Feely took first on the vault (9.875) and Mirski was first on floor (9.8).
Wochinski once again paced Fremd’s attack by tying for sixth on the vault (9.5), tying for ninth on the floor (9.375), taking 10th on the bars (9.3), and adding an eighth-place finish on the beam (9.45).
“We’ve been practicing really hard and we really dealt well with the pressure,” added Wochinski, who went 4-for-4 with no falls. “I just wanted to make sure that everyone had someone to look at, and I was determined to not have any falls tonight.”
Junior Stephanie Uhrich took 11th on the bars (9.25) and tied for 11th on the beam (9.25) and junior Elizabeth Uhrich tied for 12th on the floor (9.325). Senior Kelsey Onesto also aided the Fremd attack by taking 16th on the beam (9.125) and sophomore Stephanie Gallo tied for 14th on the vault (9.375).
“It’s a good time to peak in the season,” added Elizabeth Uhrich of the Vikings surge. “We’ve been hitting in practice and we definitely had to earn it tonight.”
Palatine also put it together, with sophomore Nicole Kuksuk leading the charge.
Kuksuk finished seventh in the all-around (37.40), tying for fourth on the beam (9.5), tying for seventh on the floor (9.4) and adding a 13th place finish on the vault (9.4).
“I just wanted to go out there and do my best,” said Kuksuk, who helped set the tone for the Pirates by hitting on the beam. “We’ve been working really hard on beam and hitting it gave us a lot of momentum.”
Senior Nicole Barba took 14th on the beam (9.175) and also tied for 17th on the bars (8.95). Sophomore Abby Alden added a 13th place on the vault (9.4) for Palatine.
“We hit a high score, what else can you ask for,” said Palatine coach Terry Theobald of the Pirates performance. “This is the start for the next step.”
Barrington senior Lexi Marsella took sixth on the floor (9.475) and tied for 16th on the vault (9.35) and all-around (36.025). Freshman Laine Leedstrom also aided the Fillies attack by taking 19th on the bars (9.0).
“I just wanted my girls to come in and hit as best as they could,” said Barrington coach Jason Loeffler.
“Lexi (Marsella) was able to nail her routine on the floor.”