Boys gymnastics: Four-time champ Nigam won't be denied

Champions such as Palatine's Prakash Nigam find a way to bounce back.

After a disappointing performance Friday night in the all-around, where Nigam placed second, the Pirates senior rebounded with a vengeance on Saturday.

Nigam won four individual titles at the boys gymnastics individual state finals at Hinsdale Central.

"You take all that disappointment and self-doubt and turn it into fuel for yourself," Nigam said. "You have to make sure you hone it in a positive way. You don't let it drag you down.

"I have worked harder than this and put in this work. So I knew this was not who I am."

Nigam began the evening by winning the floor exercise with a 9.60. He went on the capture the rings with a 9.35.

The biggest surprise came in the vault, where he had the best score of his career and scored a 9.45. He then finished strong on the parallel bars with a 9.30.

"It was really nice to come back," Nigam said. "Last night I was thinking too much about the placement. I might not have got the one thing I wanted - but I got four other things that I wanted."

Nigam also placed fifth on the pommel horse and scored an 8.75 on the high bar. That put him on the winner's stand for 5 of the 6 events for the evening with efforts that would have given him a 55.35 in the all-around.

Nigam credited his mom, Tammy, with helping him pull through in such fine form.

"It is Mother's Day weekend," Nigam said. "And I have to remember all the driving and time she spent coming to all my meets. She has backed me through my career."

Nigam scored a 54.40 Friday night to finish second behind Elgin's Nolan Williamson, who won the all-around title with a 54.65.

Undaunted, Nigam came back Saturday afternoon to qualify for the finals in all 6 events. His all-around score in the prelims was 55.60 and he finished by competing in all 18 events at the finals over the last two days.

"It was exhausting," Nigam said. "But the hunger of getting somewhere pulled me through this whole meet. Not once I was tired. This is what I worked for."

Palatine coach Scott Hagel will miss Nigam, who as been part of the Palatine team for all four years of his high school career. Nigam will head off to West Point next year, where he will compete for the Cadets.

"I am just proud beyond words," Hagel said. "Everything Prakash has done, this is the perfect way for him to cap off his career as a Palatine Pirate.

"His character is second to none. That pressure he had yesterday, we talked, and every time you have a failure in life, something good can come from it. And I think he didn't wait very long. He turned it on today."

Cary-Grove's Luka Sisauri bid for a three-peat in the pommel horse fell a bit short. The junior, who won the state title in that event for the last two years, finished seventh after a fall and scored an 8.60.

But there was redemption for Sisauri later. He nailed his high bar routine to win the state title with a 9.25.

"I never thought I would win this event," said Sisauri, who was third in the all-around on Friday. "You just have think like you are in practice and do your regular routine."

Schaumburg's Chasen Chau was third in the high bar with a 9.00. The senior also qualified on the rings and finished seventh with an 8.90.

"I am really happy with my high bar," Chau said. "It was my last event and my last meet, so I was focusing on this. I was hoping I could put out a good routine and it worked out in the end."

Schaumburg coach Erik Bostrom said Chau was one of the key factors in the Saxons' success these last three season, when they have qualified as a team for the state finals.

"He has done such a great job for us," Bostrom said. "He came in as a junior and immediately clicked with everybody. Right from the start he was a team player and 100 percent, everything, was about the Saxons. We are going to miss him."

Nigam's teammate Christian Lunsford finished fourth on the rings with a 9.05, which was a career-high for the junior.

"I am so excited," Lunsford said. "When I landed, I knew I got this. And when I got my score I said, 'Yes!' I have been smiling ever since."

Fremd's Eric Barnd, who was fifth in the all-around Friday, qualified for the finals on the pommel horse and high bar. He captured a fifth-place finish and a medal on the pommel horse with an 8.90, and an 8.10 for 12th on the high bar.

"It was really nice get a medal here today," Barnd said. "I was able to come out here today and hit two pommel horses. It is really nice after four years. It was what I was gunning for today."

Teammate Ryan Roth also brought home a medal. Roth was fifth on the vault with a 9.20. Earlier, he was sixth on the floor with a 9.30.

"I always wanted to just make the finals," Roth said. "And to go home with a medal is a great achievement. I am super proud of that. I could not imagine anything better."

Elk Grove's Williamson was able to cap his all-around title by finishing fifth on the floor with a 9.35, along with a fifth-place finish on the vault with a 9.20.

"Today did not go as planned at all," Williamson said. "Floor wasn't too bad. I stuck my landing and I was happy with the performance. Vault wasn't too bad. I just tried to keep it clean."

Conant's Cole Aykroid qualified for the finals on the vault where he finished tied for 10th with a 9.10. Buffalo Grove's Michael Trandicosta was 12th on the parallel bars with an 8.70.

Eric Mitchell, a sophomore from Neuqua Valley, won the pommel horse with a score of 9.2.