Glenbard West makes it look easy
Glenbard West watered down some of its routines during Saturday’s Naperville North Invite, but the Hilltoppers still won handily, finishing 3 points ahead of Palatine, 140.45-137.45.
Hinsdale Central was third with a 135.775, followed by Prospect’s 135.125 and Naperville Central’s 131.35.
“We had a big meet on Wednesday and went 147.3,” Glenbard West coach Carlos Fuentes said. “We just came in to make sure we had a nice meet.”
Nicole Pagor led the Hilltoppers, placing fourth in the all-around with a 35.7. Shauna Gialluisi was seventh with a 34.625 and Abbie Garchitorena was eighth with a 34.5. Also, Maggie Phillips took fourth on bars with a 9 and Mackenzie O’Keefe was fourth on beam with an 8.95.
The Hilltoppers subsequently dominated the floor exercise. Erin Morgan finished first with a 9.35, but the Hilltoppers had claimed second through fifth place, including Pagor’s 9.225 and a 9.125 from Missy Guzman.
“It’s nice to have Maggie Phillips and Mackenzie O’Keefe as a freshman and sophomore be a part of our tradition and then be able to continue that for the next few years,” Fuentes said. “We were a bit conservative today. We knew it would be tougher judging, the kids were gearing up for finals, and I always feel we have a big surge in that Wednesday meet.”
Palatine’s Nicole Kuksuk led the Pirates to second place. Kuksuk won beam with a 9.275 and tied Hinsdale Central’s Erin Morgan for top honors on bars with a 9.125.
“I started a new routine on bars just one meet ago so I was pretty nervous with 12 teams here,” Kuksuk said. “My team is good at helping me calm my nerves so it was OK, and then beam was a bit slippery, but I tried not to think about it.”
Naperville Central showed signs that it’s close to finalizing the look of its team for the postseason later this month.
Vanessa Henry tied for eighth on floor with an 8.875 and was the Redhawks’ top all-arounder, taking 12th place with a 33.5.
“We just need to refine a few things on bars and two of them are releasing moves,” Naperville Central coach Glen Reimers said. “Vault is pretty well set, with the exception of Logan Hassler still working on Yurchenkos, and our floor is set. We’re working on bars and a few things on beam, but other than that the routines you saw tonight are the ones we’ll be focusing on.”
Host Naperville North took seventh place with a 129.4 but crowned the vault champion as Kaitlyn Daly ousted teammate Michaela Robert, 9.275 to 9.175. Robert added a fifth-place finish in the all-around with a 35.05.
“Michaela didn’t have one of her best meets because she struggled on beams and bars, but it was nice for her to still end up fifth in the all-around,” Naperville North coach Chris Stanicek said. “When she hits, she’s really going to be someone to watch and things like that.”
Morgan won the all-around, leading the Red Devils with a 36.375. Prospect’s Lauren Johnson took second place in the all-around with a 36.125.
“This is a big meet, and not just for us because we’re hosting, but for all the schools,” Stanicek said. “It’s the beginning of state competitive judging and the tournaments.”