DeKalb/Sycamore edges Glenbard West at Oswego
You can’t expect the best from a high school gymnast after a few days without practice.
Several area teams were in action on Tuesday afternoon in Oswego’s 15th Annual Panther Invitational.
The holiday break did nothing from slowing DeKalb/Sycamore co-op which won the title, finishing comfortably ahead of runner-up Glenbard West, 144.575 to 142.050. The hosts finished third with a 137.5. Stevenson had a 135.750 and Geneva posted a 135.1 to round out the top five teams.
“We were OK. We knew we had to come out and get our stuff done and we made sure we got it done before break,” Glenbard West’s Nicole Pagor said. “We had practice yesterday and tried to keep it up and make sure everything was fine.”
Pagor led the Hilltoppers, taking seventh place in the all-around with a 34.9. Abbie Garchitorena was ninth with a 34.475. Other notable scores for the Hilltoppers, included Missy Guzman’s 9.225 on beam, an 8.95 on bars from Maggie Phillips as well as a fine afternoon from Mackenzie O’Keefe, who took fourth on beam and fifth on bars.
“We feel like we’re on the right path,” Pagor said. “Everything looked a lot better, a lot cleaner today so you can tell we’ve worked hard to make things better and get those tenths back.”
Elizabeth Shank paced Stevenson, placing eighth in the all-around with a 34.875. She took third on bars with a 9.025.
Geneva was led by Haley Carroll who tied for fifth on beam with an 8.925 and was 10th in the all-around with a 34.425. Also for the Vikings, Claire Scatterday tied for eighth on beam and Ashley Puff tied for ninth on floor. “I was really pleased with my tsuk because it was the first time I did it since club a couple years ago,” Carroll said. “We had a little time off so we were a bit refreshed and I think we did pretty well.”
Wheaton co-op placed sixth with a 132.2 despite being without four of its gymnasts.
“There is a lot of depth on the team but without four girls, it obviously hurts,” Wheaton co-op coach Maureen Latimer said. “The other girls stepped up and did a great job, though.”
Wheaton was without its Sarah standouts — Sarah Deicke only competed on bars due to an ankle injury, and Sarah Bradley was away with family. Emily Cook finished 11th in all-around with a 34.3 and Audrey Channon was right behind her with a 34.05. Brianna Mulhearn and Jordan Lane also competed as all-arounders.
Glenbard East took seventh with a 125.625, followed by Batavia with a 124.
“We haven’t practiced since Thursday because the park district was closed Friday and Monday,” Batavia coach Tarynn Boyce said. “They did good but had a lot of falls. We just have to get rid of the falls, but I can’t expect much after four days off.”
DeKalb/Sycamore co-op’s Alyssa Lopez won all four events to take the all-around title with an eye-popping 38.6. St. Edward’s Abby Madden and Jordyn Madden followed Lopez with a 36.875 and 35.7, respectively.