Buoy lifts St. Charles co-op past Glenbard North
Senior Dani Buoy is fueled by the feeling of competing for the St. Charles co-op girls gymnastics team's sixth-place lineup at the 2014 state meet.
"It's an amazing experience and it's my senior year so it would just be awesome to do that again," Buoy said.
St. Charles again is in contention for one of the eight state team berths this season and if it happens, an improved Buoy will be one of the reasons.
On Wednesday she played an even bigger role than usual in her team's 136.45 to 135.70 nonconference dual victory over Glenbard North in Carol Stream.
Buoy won all-around with a 35.40 and had her team's highest scores on two of the four events with a second-place 8.9 on balance beam and third-place 9.0 on floor exercise.
Sophomores Grace Levita and Mychaela Guy and senior Devon Ross also had top-three finishes.
"It's still the start of the season. I still like we're kind of working out some kinks," St. Charles co-op coach Amy Wojdelko said. "(Buoy) worked really hard in the offseason. I think she's doing as well, or better (than last season).
In the morning St. Charles co-op found out that sophomore all-arounder Emma Grace Redmond-Mattucci, a 2015 individual state qualifier on uneven bars and floor, would not compete because of illness. Buoy became the team's final competitor on every event.
"I think we performed well with her not being here," Buoy said. "We went into it not really focusing on her not being there. It felt different because she's an anchor."
Glenbard North posted a season-high score behind senior Allison Wahrman and sophomore newcomer Delaney Guy.
Wahrman, an individual state qualifier in all-around, vault and uneven bars each of her two high school seasons, won all three events she competed - uneven bars and floor exercise with 9.4s and beam with a 9.1.
Guy's pike Yurchenko vault earned a first-place 9.3.
"Allison is our only returning varsity kid. I think for a rebuilding year we're scoring pretty well," Glenbard North coach Kristin Nordquist said. "(Wahrman is) in a really good place. I walk away from every practice being, 'Allison looks so good.' She just looks solid."
This was the fourth meet for both teams. St. Charles' season-high 140.95 Dec. 7 puts it among 10 teams to score at least 140 this season going into Wednesday.
Ross and Mychaela Guy each scored 33.35 in all-around and Levita had counting scores on all three of her events. With Redmond-Mattucci out, Lauren Carne was added on three events and senior Sam Upshaw, also a 2014 state team competitor, made her varsity season debut on beam.
Levita was third on bars with a 9.05 and overcame an early fall on beam for a third-place 8.4.
"(Bars) was a good one for me. I'm pretty proud that I got through it without having any pauses," Levita said. "Last year at this meet I was kind of nervous about the ceiling being kind of low and I kind of overcame that."
The Panthers have been using five all-arounders with Wahrman, Delaney Guy, senior Erika Meister, junior Amanda Arendt and freshman Katie Blakely.
An Iowa recruit for track and field, Wahrman was ninth at state last year on uneven bars. She also was sixth on vault in 2014 but has only vaulted in one meet this season to protect her ankles.
At the Hersey Invite on Saturday, she won all-around with a 36.65 and vault with a 9.525 pike Yurchenko and was second on uneven bars with a 9.3. She plans to add a pirouette to increase her start value by 0.2.
"Today (bars) wsan't my best routine, even though I got a 9.4, but I definitely think there's improvement there," Wahrman said. "I'm completely healthy. I'm just trying to stay that way because last year I was a little bit beat up. My goal is to medal (top five at state)."
Delaney Guy transferred from Woodstock North, which does not have a high school gymnastics team. The Level 9 club gymnast earned the nickname "Tarzan" after swinging with the ropes attached to a harness while practicing uneven bars Monday.
Delaney and Mychaela Guy are not related.
"Yeah, it's so exciting (to compete)," Delaney Guy said. "A few years ago, I went to high school state because I knew some people in it. I think my skills have increased a lot over the years."