Boys gymnastics: Glenbard West tops field at Mustang Invite

Glenbard West showed off its depth Saturday in the 36th annual Vic Avigliano Mustang Invitational at Rolling Meadows.

The Hilltoppers, who figure to contend for the boys gymnastics state title in May, came away with the team title at Rolling Meadows. They scored a 50.20 to finish ahead of Fremd (48.95), Wheaton co-op (48.10) and York (47.00).

"We try to emphasize that every guy counts," said Glenbard West coach Frank Novakowski. "Every tenth a kid earns make a difference for the team."

The Avigliano Mustang Invitational is unique in its format, as competitors are allowed to compete in just one event for their team.

That made Glenbard West's victory even more impressive since the Hilltoppers were without two of their top gymnasts. Timmy Le and Matthew Ideler were participating in the state club gymnastics meet.

"This is a good meet for looking at depth," Novakowski said. "If you do well at this meet, it usually means you have decent depth.

Aiden Rudolph won the vault for Glenbard West with a score of 9.10.

"I think it went pretty well for me," said Rudolph, a junior. "I tucked my knees a little bit."

The Hilltoppers also got strong performances from their team with four other top-five finishes.

Frankie Pham was second on the rings, Alexander Demeris was third on the high bar, Abu Syed was forth on the parallel bars and Shea Rudolph fifth on the floor.

Fremd had two first-place finishes and two second-place finishes to help power the Vikings to a second-place finish in the meet.

Ryan Roth won the floor with a 9.30 while Nick Oyasu won the pommel horse with an 8.60. Ethan Cho was second on the parallel bars while Eric Barnd was second on high bar.

"It was a great meet for us," said Fremd coach Tim Hamman said. "It is an interesting format. To be right with Glenbard West, which is one of the top teams in the state, it is a good thing."

Oyasu said a good warm-up led him to a successful ride on the pommel horse.

"I did well in warm-ups," Oyasu said. "I was feeling pretty confident. I was a little nervous during the routine but I stayed on and did real well."

Roth was pleased with his outcome despite a long wait.

"I was a little cold coming in," Roth said. "I warmed up earlier and then had to wait my turn in the competition. But it went very well."

Also doing well in the event was Addison Trail's Alex Kominowski, who tied Roth for the title with a 9.30. Kominowski said he was relieved not to have been affected by an injured toe.

"I came in a little sketchy," Kominowski said. "I thought that sticking things could be a lot easier and less painful. But for the most part, I thought I did pretty well."

Wheaton Co-op's Chris Wiper cleaned up on the parallel bars to win the event with an 8.70. It was a career best for the sophomore.

"It felt real good," Wiper said. "I tried to have the best form possible. I stuck my dismount and I really wanted it."

York had winners in Kelvin Stevens, who won the still rings with a 9.40, and Charlie Cripe, who won the high bar with a 9.70.

For Stevens, it was his highest rings score of the season. It was also especially sweet since Saturday was his 17th birthday.

"I came in focused and knew what I had to do," Stevens said. "There was a lot of good competition out here. I was tried to get the job done."

Cripe also got the job done for York. The freshman tied his best score of the season and was pleased with his performance.

"It was fun," Cripe said. "My release skill could use a little bit of touch ups but my Giants were great. I was told (by my coaches) they had no points deducted."