Tri-Cities girls gymnastics season preview
By Chris Walker
Daily Herald Correspondent
Batavia
Coach: Taryn Boyce (8th year)
Top returnees: Nikki Flesvig (Sr., floor, beam), Sarah Ganster (Jr., all-around), Lily Garcia (Jr., floor, vault), Meggan Hagemann (Sr., floor, vault), Mandy Stangl (Jr., beam)
Key newcomers: Kaylin Clevenger (Fr., all-around), Kristi Zabka (Fr., all-around)
Outlook: Batavia battled through some growing pains last season and still ended up sending three gymnasts to sectionals. Earlier this year, the Bulldogs didn’t graduate any scorer of note, but did lose sophomore Brittany Wahlen, who advanced to sectionals on vault last year. Junior Sarah Ganster was the Bulldogs most consistent and highest scorer last year and she’s back along with a handful of notable specialists, including seniors Nikki Flesvig and Meggan Hagemann and juniors Lily Garcia and Mandy Stangl. While the returnees will play a significant role, it’s contributions from at least two incoming freshmen, perhaps more, that will be crucial to how far the team can go. Batavia coach Taryn Boyce expects freshmen Kaylin Clevenger and Kristi Zabka to ultimately compete as all-arounders, while five other freshmen might fill holes on bars and on other events. “I’m hoping to at least be 135 at some point,” Boyce said. “We’ll probably start out rough, but we should eventually be well into the 130s.” The gymnasts appear to have remained active during the off-season so their skills shouldn’t have diminished from where they left off in February. “They haven’t perfected anything yet, but at least they’re starting where they left off,” Boyce said. “Hopefully we can get some better skills for the end.” The future appears very bright for the Bulldogs. While they should be competitive this winter, they welcome seven freshmen to this year’s squad and solid classes are up-and-coming in middle school.
Geneva
Coach: Kim Hostman (13th year)
Top returnees: Haley Carroll (Jr., all-around), Jenna Ginsberg (Jr., bars, vault), Alexis Graham (Sr., beam), Kaitlyn Kanarowski (Sr., all-around), Ashley Puff (Jr., all-around), Claire Scatterday (So., beam, floor, bars)
Key newcomers: Megan Beitzel (Fr., bars, vault), Delaney Wood (Jr., all-around)
Outlook: As many as six pieces from last year’s record-breaking Geneva team have moved on with graduation. That includes standout Emily Ott who led the team to a school-record 142.125 to win the Upstate Eight Conference. While several faces will be different this winter, Geneva has plenty of reasons to be excited, especially with junior all-arounders Haley Carroll and Ashley Puff back and senior Kaitlyn Kanarowski returning after missing last year with a back injury and junior Delaney Wood returning after opting not to compete last winter. “They’ve been working hard on new skills,” Geneva coach Kim Hostman said. “They should do very well.” Carroll and Puff could be the lone all-arounders for the Vikings, although Hostman is hopeful that Kanarowski can eventually return to the all-around form she showed as a freshman and sophomore. “She’s not 100 percent at her skill level,” Hostman said. “She’s been in and out throughout the summer, and she’s doing well, but we’re treating her gingerly, getting her in the swing of things.” Claire Scatterday, who made a fine late-season addition on beam, is expected to be a tri-event specialist, while senior Alexis Graham and junior Jenna Ginsberg are specialists along with incoming freshman Megan Beitzel. Hopefully for the Vikings, their efforts will be able to complement the scores of Carroll and Puff. “Ashley’s worked on some new skills and updated her difficulty, but floor is still her strongest,” Hostman said. “Haley was in track. She’s doing very well and hopefully we’ll have those three (Carroll, Kanarowski, Puff) in the mix as all-arounders.”
St. Charles co-op
Coach: Amy Lill (5th year)
Top returnees: Kaylee Arnold (Sr., all-around), Sidney Copeland (So., all-around), Kathryn Doody (Jr., vault, beam), AJ Francioni (Sr., floor), Jesi Ortiz (Jr., vault, floor), Andrea Schwartz (Jr., all-around), Kristin Sheehan (Sr., bars, vault)
Key newcomers: Kelly Gorniak (So., all-around), Andrew Montano (Fr., bars, beam, vault), Sydney Olson (Jr., vault, bars, floor), Sierra Thiesse (So., all-around)
Outlook: St. Charles co-op will likely field its strongest team since it went to the state finals in 2008. The only personnel loss was specialist Meredith Beird who graduated. The other key gymnasts from last winter all return, along with sophomore newcomers Kelly Gorniak and Sierra Thiesse, freshman Andrea Montano, and junior Sydney Olson who comes back after taking last year off. Kaylee Arnold, Sidney Copeland and Andrea Schwarz return as all-arounders. Gorniak and Thiesse could also compete as all-arounders, while the team also boasts six gymnasts who likely will serve roles as specialists. “I am fortunate enough this year to have an overwhelming abundance of talent,” St. Charles co-op coach Amy Lill said. “My gymnasts worked hard in the off-season and have come back stronger and with new skills.” St. Charles had its moments a season ago, beating Geneva on senior night, but also were inconsistent at times, closing their team season with just a 132.525 in the Geneva regional. This year, the team hopes to make great strides. “I am very excited at the potential my team has this year,” Lill said. “I feel that we will have a very successful season.”
— Compiled by Chris Walker