Prairie Ridge in command at state
Prairie Ridge co-op girls gymnastics coach Lee Battaglia noted in the preseason that senior Nikki Baars would hold down the No. 1 spot and anchor the team.
On Friday at the state meet at Palatine High School, Baars proved to be the top one in the state.
Baars, a Cary-Grove student, was on top of her game from start to finish in securing the all-around title with a score of 38.075.
Glenbrook South senior Hannah Hartley (38.025) finished second in the all-around, with Geneva senior Claire Ginsberg and Glenbard West sophomore Maddie Diab tying for third (38.). DeKalb senior Aleah Leman (37.85) took fifth.
Baars became the third individual to win an all-around title for Prairie Ridge joining Jenny Covers, who won the title in 2009 and 2011, and Rachael Underwood who won the title in 2015.
"It feels great," said of Baars of her big accomplishment. "You really have to live up to them (Covers and Underwood). They made such a big impact; you just have to follow in their footsteps."
Baars made a pretty big impact on Friday, advancing to Saturday's finals in all four events. The senior started her day by taking fifth on the beam (9.325). She then tied for fourth on floor (9.5) and continued her roll by tying for seventh on vault (9.65) before ending her night by taking third on the bars (9.6).
"One thing I know about Nikki is she is a competitor," said Battaglia. "She does it in workouts, she shows it with her routine, and she competes. She is the whole package."
With Baars leading the way, Prairie Ridge co-op had a pretty special day in pretty much securing its third consecutive state title with a commanding score of 148.70.
DeKalb co-op has a solid hold on second place with 146.875, with Glenbrook South (146.575) in third place. Carmel (145.125) and New Trier (144.95) rounded out the top five.
Saturday finals in the individual events and team trophies will begin at 2 p.m. at Palatine High School.
Prairie Ridge started slowly on beam where it counted three falls, but the Wolves were 15-for-15 in their final three events in jumping to a commanding advantage.
Prairie Ridge will have six opportunities to increase its score with three individuals advancing to finals.
"We dug ourselves a hole on beam," said Battaglia of the Wolves' shaky start. "But we dominated the final three events. These kids never give up - definitely a come-from-behind victory."
Sophomore Kira Karblom tied for fourth on the floor (9.5) and sophomore Maddy Kim tied for sixth on bars (9.575) in helping boost the Wolves' attack.
"We knew we had to regroup after beam," said Karlblom, who had one of the falls on the beam. "We couldn't give up, we just had to hit our events and that's what we did."
Prairie Ridge is in line to win its sixth consecutive state trophy on Saturday and Baars is hoping to add to her five state medals.
"We had some ups and downs during the season," said Baars of her team's season. "But we made it count when we needed to."
Ginsberg also made it count when she needed to.
The Geneva senior won the all-around title as a freshman in 2014 and had earned six state medals in her first two years. But a shoulder injury wiped out her state aspirations last year.
Ginsberg made the most of her last chance in securing third place in the all-around and advancing to Saturday's finals on the vault, bars, and floor.
"It feels amazing," said Ginsberg who rehabbed her shoulder for over seven months. "My goal was just to make it back to state, today was just icing on the cake."
Ginsberg started her day by tying for first on the floor (9.575). She continued to roll by tying for seventh on the vault (9.65), and she added to her tally by taking third on the bars (9.4) and ended her night with solid beam (9.55).
"She has just done an amazing job rebuilding her shoulder," said Geneva coach Kim Hostman. "For her to come out here today with all the pressure and finish on beam … it's just a great accomplishment."
"Everyday in recovery the goal was just to get back to state," added Ginsberg, who hit a season high in the all-around on Friday. "I knew it was a long shot, but it ended up being my dream meet."
Geneva senior Michaela Allen also had nice finish for the Vikings in taking 17th in the all-around, aided by a solid vault (9.4) and floor (9.15).
"I felt pretty good about it," said Allen of her performance. "I just wanted to be able to finish strong."
St. Charles North junior Emma Grace Redmond-Mattucci took 25th in the all-around aided by a solid vault (9.4) and bars (9.0).