Mundelein third at invitational

Naperville North thought it might have enough talent to return to state this spring.

Mundelein believes it can get there, but only if it gets its full lineup in the gym.

Both teams found themselves well behind Lincoln-Way co-op during Friday’s third annual Krupicka Invitational at Hinsdale Central.

Lincoln-Way co-op won with 147.45 points. Hinsdale Central placed second with a 137.7 and Mundelein was third with a 134.15.

Naperville North edged Naperville Central 115.65 to 114.94 for fifth place. Other notable area finishers included Addison Trail, which was seventh with a 110.58, and Libertyville, which was eighth with a 96.1.

Mundelein, which anticipates the full return of injured senior all-arounder Tim Beranek later this spring, received a strong effort from Colin McCarthy, who won high bar with an 8.8 and floor with a 9.7. His 51.8 total in the all-around was the second-highest score of the night.

“We feel like if we’re healthy we should be in contention for sure,” Mundelein coach Jesse Piland said. “I’m definitely pushing the guys to think like that, and hopefully we get Tim back and go down that path of trying to make it to state.”

Beranek took third on high bar with a 7.9, Kevin Franz was eighth on parallel bars with a 7.8 and Cameron Mueller was third on still rings with an 8.4 and a total of 41.6 in the all-around for the Mustangs.

“Maurice Ruff, Cameron Mueller and Kevin Franz all stepped up today,” Piland said. “We needed big scores on floor and p-bars and we got them. Kadeem Williams gave us our third score on p-bars and he’s never done that, so that was awesome.”

Hinsdale Central welcomed back Tyler Leahy whose season was delayed as he was committed to a production of “Les Miserables.” Leahy won vault with a 9.4 and took third in the all-around with a 50.1.

“For my first meet I hit as well as I had hoped,” Leahy said. “I was a little shaky on some things and made a few mistakes here and there, but felt pretty good with where I am to start.”

Karan Mahajan was second on pommel horse with an 8.4, Sam Pielet was third on vault with a 9.25 and Jamel Redmond placed fifth on floor with a 9 for the Red Devils.

“Our score really jumped with Tyler coming back, which is really nice,” Hinsdale Central coach Mark Wanner said. “The other guys are working very hard and it paid off in some spots and in others we need more time working on it.”

Naperville North’s Billy Suta, who has been limited on a couple events at the start of the season as he recovered from a fibular fracture, competed as an all-arounder for the first time this season, placing fourth with a 49.15.

The Huskies made it to state last year thanks to Suta and fellow all-arounders Josh Soto and Dante Reyes. Soto graduated and Reyes left the team, which pretty much leaves Suta aiming toward individual accomplishments the rest of the spring.

“It wasn’t one of my best meets at all, but I had to get through this first one,” Suta said. “I’m glad to get back into things and it’ll get better from here.”

Naperville Central had a season-high score. Perhaps having the kids out of school for parent-teacher conferences paid dividends.

“I think sleeping in a bit and not being in school today helped,” Naperville Central coach Glen Reimers said. “I think they came in a little more relaxed.”

Dom Delgrosso led the Redhawks with a 42.1 in the all-around, and Charles Abeling was sixth on still rings with a 7.3.

Addison Trail’s Justin Wheeler was fifth on vault with an 8.93 and Joe Haynes was fifth on high bar with a 7.4.

Libertyville’s top score came from Evan Policht, who took eighth on floor with an 8.6.