Scouting DuPage County boys gymnastics
Top local teams: Downers Grove North, Glenbard West, Hinsdale Central, Wheaton Warrenville co-op, Willowbrook, York.
Top returning gymnastics: Armani Carter (Naperville Central, sr., all-around), Dominic Cassano (Hinsdale South, sr., all-around), Alexander Demeris (Glenbard West, so., all-around), Joey DiRienzio (Wheaton Warrenville co-op, sr., all-around), Lukas Elisha (Downers Grove North, sr., all-around), John Gill (York, sr., all-around), Aaron Heppner (Downers Grove North, so., all-around), Nolan Holmes (Hinsdale Central, sr., all-around), Michael Hunter (Naperville North, jr., floor, vault), Jacob Klamer (Downers Grove South, so., all-around), Marc Le (Glenbard East, sr., all-around), Aiden Moran (Wheaton Warrenville co-op, sr., all-around), Sean O'Hara (Glenbard East, jr., all-around), Louie Ranieri (Lake Park, jr., all-around), Alex Roca (Hinsdale Central, sr., floor, high bar, parallel bars, vault), Aiden Rudolph (Glenbard West, sr., all-around), Shea Rudolph (Glenbard West, sr., all-around), Adam Sousa (Willowbrook, sr., all-around), Kelvin Stephens (York, sr., high bar, parallel bars, still rings).
Outlook: Addison Trail will field a young squad as it builds on a pretty solid base of sophomores from a year ago. Freshman Matt Wojdka, a floor and vault specialist, is expected to be a nice addition, but overall coach Mike Galfi isn't sure how well the team will score and ultimately will try to gain experience while getting better and qualifying some individuals to the state meet.
Watch out for Downers Grove North now that senior Lukas Elisha has returned for his final season for the Trojans. He took eighth in the all-around in the state as a sophomore, and standout sophomore Aaron Heppner also is back. The Trojans have huge numbers, boasting a roaster of over 40 gymnasts but who will piece together the scores around Heppner and Elisha? Braeden Gagliano, Konrad Kuzkowski and Billy Vodak are the frontrunners, but there are opportunities here, and they're needed, to help the team get to state.
Downers Grove South no longer has the dynamic 1-2 punch of Brock Herion and Beau Herion that it had a season ago. Brock is actually helping out on the coaching end while he also attends the College of DuPage. Beau has gone back to club, but he still may return for his senior year in 2020 if things go as planned for him. Sophomore Jacob Klamer is back to lead the team, while senior Donte Reed, who was hurt last year, also returns to action. Freshman floor specialist Nick Schmidt-Bailey will all contribute a solid score for the Mustangs.
Fenton will take the same approach it has during past seasons. "Train hard, stay healthy, work skills, clean up technique, have fun and enjoy participating in a high school sport with your peers," Bison coach Paula Parat said. Of course, the goal is for the regular season to culminate with some kids making it to the big stage at state in May. Tony Palacios, Angel Moralez, Danny Alcaraz, Omar Lopez, Jose Lopez and Angel Barriga, the Daily Herald DuPage County All-Area boys soccer team captain, return.
Glenbard East welcomes back senior Marc Le, a state qualifier and one of the most talented kids in the state. Fourth-year gymnasts Jonathan Rayo and David Lima also return, along with Josh Vu, Peter DeLaCruz, Sean O'Hara, Elliot Rico and Aleix Castro while Jacob Heabel and Jamylene Miles join a deep Rams roster with a strong coaching staff with coach Wayne Hill, former longtime coach Bruce Beiersdorf, Darren Nuezca and JV coach Alexis Eckersall. Huge things are expected out of O'Hara after a dedicated work ethic in the off-season while Miles is a newcomer to especially keep your eye on.
Glenbard North will continue to try to rebuild its program with young gymnasts. The Panthers will only have two seniors and some juniors as the team will be mostly comprised of sophomores, including all-arounder Brandon Dao. "We'd like to qualify some kids to state as individuals and hope to return to state as a team in two years," Panthers coach Michael Crissie said.
Glenbard South is hoping that its experienced senior group - including all-arounder Sean McLaughlin, a co-captain coming back from a horrendous ankle injury, and co-captain pommel horse specialist Tony Longo - can lead the way to a strong, successful season. "We just need some time for the varsity group to be firing on all cylinders," Raiders coach Lee Wood said. "The outlook is good but also sad that I will be graduating a giant class of seniors, which will lead to a few rebuilding years." Senior all-arounder Ryan McConville and senior floor and vault specialist Charlie Barrett are part of that talented senior class.
Glenbard West, the defending state champion, finds itself without Matthew Ideler and Timmy Le, a pair of all-arounders who led the team to the title. The Hilltoppers will have a difficult time replacing their all-around scores, but with sophomore Alexander Demeris and seniors Aiden Rudolph and Shea Rudolph capable in all events, and senior pommel horse specialist Danny Eichen back in the action, the Hilltoppers should be in the running for what is arguably the most competitive conference in the state this year, the West Suburban Silver. Don't count them out in being at the state meet either, especially if juniors Coley McArdle and Conor McBride and seniors Andrew Lopez and Orest Kostetskyy can add scores in specialist roles.
Hinsdale Central is coming off a fifth-place finish at state. The Red Devils lost some key seniors but return senior Alex Roca and junior Nolan Holmes to lead the squad. "Looking for an injury free season," Hinsdale Central coach Mark Wanner said. "I expect success at the end of the season." Junior all-arounders Nicky Armonda, Eric Miscimarra and Thomas Monson and pommel horse specialist Bilal Yousef join the team while seniors specialists Dylan Gnat and Tomas Baliutavicius also return.
Hinsdale South welcomes new coach Anthony Colant, who inherits a small team with only 18 gymnasts as of March 1. Colant isn't sure if he'll have any late commits so the team will rely heavily on returning all-arounder Dominic Cassano and Malcolm Moore, who will compete in five events. Sophomore Michael Colant and freshmen Henry Mihindou are new additions for the Hornets and will be all-arounders. "We're hoping to have four or five guys make state as individuals on their respective events, but I'm not anticipating any huge scores, team-wise," Anthony Colant said. "Our team goals will be more progress based than achievement based."
Lake Park's goals at the start of the season are to outdo itself from a year ago. The Lancers peaked at a 133.95, so they hope to crack a 134 and to ultimately improve on last year's sectional seeding rank of No. 24. "We are looking to try and win four of our six dual meets this season," Lake Park coach Tim Whelan said. All-arounders Louie Ranieri and Matt Scimeca and three-event senior Jake Slavin are expected to lead the way, while freshman Owen Bigler joins the team with a previous background in the sport.
Naperville Central is senior heavy with specialists Damien Dedivitis, Griffin Irle, Matt Kunzer, Bobby Parker, Ethan Farrell, Alex Killips, Sam Piazza and all-arounder Armani Carter. Junior Joe Villa also returns on still rings and high bar. The Redhawks did lose Tahj Jacobs so they will need to replace some of his scores, but the team is confident that they'll be better than they were a year ago.
Naperville North will rely heavily on seniors Parker Ayars and Sean Swalwell and juniors Michael Hunter and Eric Loid. "We graduated a great deal of seniors, but our current seniors and juniors are really strong in their events," Naperville North coach Chris Stanicek said. "I believe we will be competitive this year but still looking to develop as a team and a program." Hunter advanced to state on vault last year.
Wheaton Warrenville co-op will attempt to advance to the state finals for the 10th straight season. With such longtime success, there's no reason to bet against a team that is also shooting for its fifth state title in 15 years. Who will take over the senior high-scoring and leadership reigns, though, which is something that has been so key to the team's phenomenal success? Is there another Darren Fill, David MacDonald, Lucas Cooperman or Austin Tate? Is it Joey DiRienzio or Aiden Moran? Is it a super-talented newcomer? "This could be a productive season for Wheaton co-op. It really depends on the development of our third, fourth and fifth scores on all the events," Wheaton co-op coach Greg Gebhardt said. "If we can fill those holes then it could an exciting year for our gymnastics team." Senior Jeffrey Huecias, junior Rodrigo Ruiz and sophomore Marty Franz return. The upcoming talent includes a pair of senior specialists in Alex Tran and Carlos Zactazi and a pair of freshmen all-arounders in Cade Houlihan and prized newcomer Nicky Franz.
Willowbrook should be one of the better teams in the state this year, but how far it goes all depends on what the team can do around senior Adam Sousa, who returns after not competing last year. Sousa is one of the best gymnasts in the state, taking fourth place in the all-around in 2015 and 2016. "I believe that our team has the potential to be within a few points of being a state team, but there would have to be a lot of improvement on each event to get us to that point," Willowbrook coach Caleb Strejc said. "I think realistically we can crack the Top 15 teams barrier." Juniors Isaiah Lewis and Brendan Bailey and seniors Matthew Smith and Daniel Lopez Egan will have big roles.
York will field one of the state's best high bar teams as Jacob Anderson, Charlie Cripe, John Gill and Kelvin Stevens all advanced to state last year. Stevens, who is coming back from an injury, qualified for state in four events, and Cripe and Gill did on a pair. The team also welcomes back sophomore all-arounder Dominic Milazzo so the Dukes have the talent to go far. "This season we are coming out strong," Dukes coach Nick Criel said. "The boys are motivated and our seniors are prepared to go out with a bang. We will be a 150-plus team this year and have individuals make it to state finals."
- Chris Walker