Boys gymnastics: More all-around success for Mundelein
After scoring a season-high 155.9 points last week against rival Libertyville, it was going to be tough for visiting Mundelein to reach those same heights Tuesday night at Stevenson.
And while the Mustangs did not topple the 156-point barrier for the first time of the 2018 season, they still remained very consistent overall in posting an impressive 154.2 to 106.4 Independent Conference victory over a young Patriots squad.
Mundelein (2-0) got off to a fast start right away after the first rotation as it scored 24.9 points on pommel horse before soaring to another 26.4 points on floor exercise to take a commanding lead over Stevenson (0-2) after two events.
Once again it was Mundelein's all-arounders who really shined as first-year senior competitor Kurt Lawrence (52.9 points, 8.82 average) edged senior teammate Tyler Collins (8.73 average) by .50 to take home first place overall.
The Mustangs also got a third-place 48.1 from junior Will Ferro in the all-around as well as a fourth-place 41.5 from senior teammate Carson Bernett.
"We looked great, we're doing well, and everybody is hitting their routines cleanly," said Mundelein coach Jesse Piland, whose team was barely edged out by Lyons last weekend for the Hinsdale Central Invite crown despite scoring over 154 points. "We have to add some more tricks in practice, but we have to take our time and make sure they're ready before we use them in meets."
After losing elite all-arounder Matt Krames to graduation, the 2018 season is definitely shaping up to be a rebuilding year for Stevenson.
But in spite of having very little returning experience other than senior all-arounder Danny Less (fifth in all-around competition), the Patriots have been steadily showing improvements in the early stages of the season.
"There are a bunch of skills we threw today that we didn't get a chance to throw last week, and that was really exciting to see," said Stevenson coach Joe Rogalski, whose team scored 23.6 points on floor exercise.. "I think floor exercise is our best event in most meets and it has consistently been our best event by a significant margin."
Lawrence was the individual champion on high bar (9.5), still rings (9.1), an floor exercise (9.0) while Collins took home first place on vault (9.3), parallel bars (8.8), and pommel horse (8.4).
"I think our team is looking really good this year, and our high bar is just steadily improving from meet to meet," said Collins, who should make a huge jump up the standings this year after placing 25th in the state all-around as a junior. "Our team has a lot of difficulty in our routines so if we do our routines cleanly we can definitely be a top-three contender in the state."
Collins added a second-place 8.9 on floor while Lawrence was the runner-up on parallel bars with an 8.6. Ferro took second place on vault with an 8.7 while Stevenson's Mark Lozonoy placed fourth on floor exercise with an 8.1.
"The all-arounders did well again, and it was a good meet overall," said Piland, whose team scored 25.5 points on high bar. "Now we just have to try to get consistently better every time we get in the gym."