Hersey off to sweet start at Libertyville
They still have a long road ahead of them, but the Hersey Huskies got their boys gymnastics season off to a great start Saturday morning in a double dual at Libertyville.
Hersey and the host Wildcats held a close battle the whole way, but the Huskies maintained their slight edge to capture a 122.5 to 119.9 nonconference victory over Libertyville.
Hersey (2-0) added another nonconference win in its season opener, as Naperville Central’s short-handed squad struggled to a 111.5 in their second outing of the season.
Libertyville improved to 1-2, after falling to Glenbrook North in its season opener Thursday.
Libertyville senior Craig Breckenridge proved why he is considered one of the top gymnasts in the state, as he soared to the all-around championship with 52.5 points (8.75 average).
Libertyville got good support from junior teammate Evan Policht, who scored 37.9 points to edge Hersey’s Jake Priester (37.6 points) for second place in the all-around competition.
“High bar has taken a little time to come back, but I’m planning on putting some more things in my routine,” said Breckenridge, who improved considerably from his 50.9 overall score Thursday. “We have a large team with about 40 guys, but almost all of them are in their first or second year, so we’re just trying to improve this year and have some fun.”
Still rings was a huge difference-maker for the Huskies, as they scored 21.5 points to only 17.1 on rings for the Wildcats. Parallel bars was the other event that made a big difference for Hersey, as it outscored Libertyville 21.5 to 17.5.
“We definitely had the first-meet jitters, but that is expected,” said Hersey coach Mason Vernon, whose team scored 25.2 points on vault. “I’ve got a good group. They work hard, but they lost patience, and when you go a little too fast, you make mistakes.
“I think we were consistent overall, but some people’s nerves got the best of them.”
Naperville Central (0-3) received some outstanding individual performances from Dave Rynearson, who was the vault champion with a 9.3. Rynearson also tied for first place on floor exercise with Breckenridge with a 9.4.
“Dave Rynearson did well on floor exercise and vault and we don’t have a meet until Friday at Hinsdale Central so that will be good to get some time in the gym,” said Naperville Central coach Glen Reimers. “We have five guys who are out today so I think we did pretty well.”
Breckenridge was the individual champion on still rings (8.8), pommel horse (8.6), parallel bars (8.5) and high bar (8.2).
Hersey had second-place marks from Evan Reynolds (8.2) on still rings, Ryan Breukert (8.2) on parallel bars and Priester (6.6) on high bar.
Breckenridge added a runner-up score of 9.0 on vault to outdistance Policht (8.6) in third place. Policht also placed third on floor exercise with an 8.6, while Naperville Central’s Dom Delgrosso was the runner-up on pommel horse with a 5.1. Breukert posted a third-place 6.7 on still rings.
“We were very much a better team today (than Thursday) and the routines were much stronger,” said Libertyville coach Curt Austin. “Craig (Breckenridge) looked really good. He’s a polished kid, and you can’t ask for a better team leader.”
“Evan (Policht) is a natural athlete. He’s motivated, and I think you’re going to see good things from him throughout the season.”