Northwest/Scouting boys gymnastics
By Dick Quagliano
Daily Herald Correspondent
Whoever said that gymnastics is a dying sport has not been to the Northwest suburbs. The sport is flourishing behind a group of enthusiastic coaches and supporters. The number of participants are up more than 10 percent overall from a year ago with coaches having to juggle their space during practices.
Teams to watch: There are no clear favorites in the Mid-Suburban East or West. The conference leans mostly to the West this year, with four teams that could have their eyes on state contention. Conant, Palatine Fremd should battle for the top spot with hard-charging Hoffman Estates in the mix. In the East, defending champion Elk Grove should repeat with Buffalo Grove and Hersey right behind them.
Fremd’s Bobby Wongkamalasai, could be looking at state title opportunities on the floor and the vault. Palatine’s Jonah Hinz and Matt Lee are coming off of good years and will be in the hunt for the all-aound title. The Santiago brothers, Kyle and Jake, of Hoffman are very strong as well. Watch for freshman Mark “Ringo” Larock at Prospect. Defending state champion Lincoln-Way co-op along with Stevenson, Glenbard West and Mundelein will be looking to make a run at a state trophy. .
Mid-Suburban East
Buffalo Grove
Coach: Chris Stevens
Participants: 50
Varsity gymnasts: Julian Vasquez (Sr. FX, V), Nick Balko (Sr. HB, PB), David Kavalerchik (Jr. AA), Matt Stein (Sr. PH), Andrew Cabalfin (Sr. FX), Aaron Tarragano (Sr. FX).
Outlook: Buffalo Grove graduated a team that just missed qualifying for state last year, including Eugene Blackmon, who was 27th in the state in the all-around. This year, Stevens will build behind Vasquez, a state qualifier on the floor.
Elk Grove
Coach: Ben Anderson
Participants: 35
Varsity gymnasts: Tom Jansen (Sr. HB, R, PB, V), Kenji Fukuba (Jr. PH), Jakub Nytko (So. AA), Chris Jimenez (Sr. FX, V).
Outlook: Anderson, who is in his first year as head coach, looks to rebuild after graduation took its toll on the defending East champion Grenadiers. Fukuba could challenge for the pommel horse title.
Hersey
Coach: Mason Vernon
Participants: 67
Varsity gymnasts: Tommy Reynolds (Sr. FX, V), Dan Urban, (Sr.), Latif Graves (Sr. PB, HB), Ryan Brueckert (Sr. PH, PB), David Jackowski (Jr.), Matt Korff (Jr. FX, V), Alex Baratta, and Jordan Graff.
Outlook: With a senior-dominated squad of specialists, the Huskies could be in the hunt for the East title. Reynolds could be a force on the floor while Korff could challenge on the vault.
Prospect
Coach: Randy Smith
Participants: 30
Varsity gymnasts: Matt Muniz (Jr. Floor, Vault), Chris Klein (Jr. AA), Mark “Ringo” Larock (Fr. AA), Tim Pappas (Jr. AA), Matt Strafaci (Jr. AA).
Outlook: After losing three state qualifiers in Cullen Williams, Ricky Studolski and Danny Jacobsen, Prospect will look to rebuild. The Knights feature a group of juniors as well as freshman Larock, whose twin sister Maddie was a standout on the girls team this year.
Rolling Meadows
Coach: Michael Costa
Participants: 25
Varsity gymnasts: Matt Crigler (AA), Joe Caprio (AA), Sam Friedman (PH).
Outlook: The Mustangs will have a difficult time replacing Marc Herff, who finished 12th in the all-around last year. They will look to Crigler, Caprio and Friedman to lead a young team.
Mid-Suburban West
Barrington
Coach: Rob DeFano
Participants: 35
Varsity gymnasts: Chad Adams (Sr. FX, V), Nick DiVito (Jr. AA), Kurt Jacobs (Sr. AA), Luka Lumovic (So. AA), Alex Schatsick (So. AA), Dominic Calabrese (So. AA)
Outlook: The Broncos are young and inexperienced and hoping to build for a late-season run. Adams was a late arrival to the squad because he was a member of the Broncos cheerleading team that finished third in the state.
Conant
Coach: Paul Kim
Participants: 43
Varsity gymnasts: Bill Belmonte (Sr. FX, V), Rashad Frazier (Sr. FX, HB), Zachery Morris (Sr. PH, PB), Nicholas Overby (Sr. PH, R, PB, HB), Thomas Palm (Sr. FX, V), Philip Schorsch (Sr. PH), Zachary Davis (Jr. FX, R, V, PB, HB), Shane Fessenden (Jr. R, PB), Joshua Hoppe (Jr. FX, V), Brandon Metcalf (Jr. R, PB), Ryan Pierce (Jr. HB), Brian Reedy (Jr. AA), Blake Rossdeutcher (So. AA).
Outlook: Conant will have to replace the talent of Steven Rink, who was ninth on the pommel horse. But Kim has put together a talented squad of specialists including Reedy, who qualified for state on the pommel horse and high bar, Palm on the floor and Belmonte, who qualified on the vault. The Cougars should challenge for the West title and are hoping to jell by the end of April, where they look to return to the state finals after a one-year absence.
Fremd
Coach: Tim Hamman
Participants: 30
Varsity gymnasts: Bobby Wongkamalasai (Sr. FX, VA, HB), CJ Patton (Jr. AA), Quin Bley (Sr. PH, SR, PB), Itaru Wakabayashi (Sr. SR, PB, HB), Kyle Stevenson (Sr. PH), Kouru Tanaka (JR. AA)
Outlook: The Vikings hope to contend for the West title behind Wongkamalasai, who was fourth in state on the floor and just missed qualifying for the state finals on the vault. Patton moves from a specialist, where he qualified for state on the pommel horse, while Wakabayashi qualified for state on the parallel bars.
Hoffman Estates
Coach: Ryan Brown
Participants: 22
Varsity gymnasts: Nick Canella (Sr. FX, R, PB, HB), Kyle Santiago (Sr. AA), Josh Parado (Sr. PH, V), Marc Malinowski (Sr. V, HB), Neo Fernandez (Sr. FX, PH, V, PB), Steven Simmons (Sr. PH, R, PB, HB), Jake Santiago, (Jr. AA), Avrey Johnson (So. FX, R, V, HB).
Outlook: Ryan Brown takes over for Scott Phillips, who stepped down as coach at Hoffman for 30 years. Brown inherits a senior-dominated team that could make some serious noise this year. The Hawks are led by the Santiago brothers; Kyle, who is a senior and qualified for state on the parallel bars and rings, and younger brother Jake, who qualified on the parallel bars.
Palatine
Coach: Scott Hagel
Number of participants: 62
Varsity gymnasts: Matt Lee (Sr. AA), Mike Jankovec (Sr. AA), Kevin Weir (Sr. FX, SR, V, PB, HB), Jonah Hinz (Jr. AA), Lucas Price (Jr. AA), Austin Hoening (Jr. AA).
Outlook: Palatine, which was fifth in state last year and lost all-aounder Damian Przystal to graduation, looks to retool this year behind state qualifiers from last year: Hinz (PH, SR, V, PB, HB, AA) and Lee (SR, PB). The Pirates should take a run at the West title, which they have won eight times in the last nine years. They will also be looking to make their fourth appearance at the state meet in the last six years.
Schaumburg
Coach: Eric Bostrom
Number of participants: 40
Varsity gymnasts: James McDougall (Sr. AA), Chris Stehlin (Sr. AA), Elliot Lam (Jr. AA), Matt Sigler (Soph. AA).
Outlook: Bostrom takes over for Howie Rubin, who retired after last season. Bostrom inherits a team that graduated Alex Lin, who was 29th in the all-around last year. But with state qualifiers McDougall, Stehlin and Sigler leading the way, the Saxons should be able to top the high score of 137 from a year ago.
West Suburban Gold
Leyden
Coach: Jason Orna
Participants: 40
Varsity gymnasts: Jethro De Los Reyes (AA), Francisco Saucedo (Sr. PB), Joey Filskov (FX, PH, PB, V, HB), UB Rodriguez (AA), Ruslan Malona (FX, V), Tyler Fossey (PH).
Outlook: Jason Orna takes over for Jason Suchy as the Eagles look to replace state high bar qualifier Mike Caporali. Orna has the Eagles on track and they could challenge in the Gold as they look to top last season’s top score of 125 points.