A devil of a debut for Diab
It’s a tough call to determine what was more entertaining during Thursday’s District 87 boys gymnastics meet in Glen Ellyn.
On the one hand, you had the wicked debut of Glenbard West’s prized freshman Alex Diab. On the other hand, you had Diab’s personal mascot, junior classmate William Stephan, who was donned in a red devil costume, shaking a sign that read, “All Hail Diablo.”
No word on how long Stephan’s devil costume novelty will last, but it appears that Diab’s season could extend to Frankfort in May as one of the top competitors in the all-around and in several individual events. He scored a 54.6 in the all-around and won all six events.
“I thought it went well and I had a great time,” Diab said. “That was pretty awesome of him to dress like that. We had a lot of fun.”
The 7.9 on pommel horse was the only sub-9 score for Diab, who had a 9.6 on floor, 9.4 on still rings, 9.3 on high bar and a pair of 9.2s on vault and parallel bars.
My goal is to get a 57 or higher (in the all-around) and I want to get a 9.5-plus in every event,” he said. “My goal is to get to a couple event finals and the all-around, and get our team to state.
Diab’s effort helped the Hilltoppers cruise to the District 87 title with 139.9 points. Glenbard North was well behind in second place with a 118.9, followed by Glenbard South’s 110.2 and a 101.7 from Glenbard East.
“Alex is obviously a special kid as far as gymnastics goes, and he’s been a positive influence and a big contributor,” Hilltoppers coach Frank Novakowski said. “We have a solid foundation and the guys know where we want to be. They were clean, that’s why we were close to 140, but we have to put in more work if we want to get where we want to by the end of the season.”
Senior PJ McCloskey was second on parallel bars with a 7.5 and third on vault with an 8.5 for the Hilltoppers, while Charlie Kummerer had an 8.2 on parallel bars, and Contrall Silmon registered an 8.3 on vault and 8 on floor.
There were 13 gymnasts who contributed in the win for the Hilltoppers, including nine single-event specialists.
“There was a special energy here and a big crowd here tonight and that picks up morale,” McCloskey said. “Alex really boosts the team’s competitive spirit.”
Meanwhile, the Panthers only had four varsity gymnasts in action, including all-arounders John Cummins, Jake Peterson and freshman TJ Kennedy.
Kennedy took second in the all-around with a 44 and Cummins followed with a 42.6.
“The guys were a lot more confident than in the first meet,” Panthers coach Michael Crissie said. “TJ seemed better prepared, John stepped up with a huge high bar set and Jake and Sean (Yocum) also stepped up.”
Kennedy, whose brother Ryan Kennedy helped the Panthers win a state title in 2009, had last competed competitively back in fifth grade. He’s slowly working his way back and had a 9 on floor.
“I’ve been quick with relearning tricks, so that’s good,” Kennedy said. “After seeing my brother compete and having so much fun, I figured I’d try it this year.”
Glenbard South’s top event proved to be still rings, where Eli Qahhaar took second with a 6.8 and Paul Steger was third with a 6. Steger finished with a 34.3 in the all-around.
“We just need more time in the gym to get full difficulty,” Raiders coach Steve Young said. “We’re missing a few parts right now and some of the event requirements.”
Glenbard East had a 23.9 on vault and 22.7 on floor but didn’t score better than a 14.7 in the other four events. The Rams’ lone all-arounder, Joey Brauer, had a 33.6. Cole Finn’s 8.1 on vault was the team’s top score.
“They put together a lot better stuff than what I saw in practice,” Rams coach Lee Wood said. “They’re going in the right direction. I think they’re getting the butterflies out and good things are to come.”