Boys gymnastics: Scouting Cook and Lake County

It should be another banner year for boys' gymnastics in the Northwest suburbs.

Last year, three area teams again made their way to the state tournament. Palatine was able to loft the state trophy while Prospect finished fourth and Hoffman Estates, competing in their own gym, finished fifth.

Hersey could be the team to beat this season this year in the Mid Suburban League.

Defending state all-around champion John Pirone has opted not to return this season. He is going to focus on competitive cheerleading and hoping to use his gym skills to improve his chances at a scholarship.

Hersey's Nate Mabry, who is a sophomore and was second in the all-around a year ago, should be a top contender this season. Barrington's Krish Patel, Mundelein's Holden Allsbury, Stevenson's Thor Mace and Fremd's Victor Balica could also be in the mix.

The 71st annual state meet will be at Hoffman Estates again this year on May 12-13.

Barrington will have many changes this season. The Broncos are moving their practice off-site due to construction at the school. Also, all-arounder Henry Stevens, who was 12th in the state last year, opted not to come out this season and prepare for USGA nationals. Krish Patel, who was 23rd, will lead the Broncos, while Ryan Shimp and Nathan Rosado will be key contributors.

Buffalo Grove has a youth movement in place. The Bison will be counting on the leadership of senior all-arounder Justin Monko to help them grow up fast. Andrew Sanitskyy and Max Lofrano will be key specialists.

Elk Grove continues to improve each season. The Grenadiers will be looking to senior specialists Emerson Quirino, Oscar Castro and Hayden Sileg. Sophomore all-arounder Esteban Martinez and freshman all-arounder Abraham Mora should also be major factors.

Conant was hit hard with graduation. The Cougars graduated all their whole varsity team from last season. They also do not have a senior on their squad this year. Sanket Vyas, Johnny Hofman and Matthew Goolish are each sophomore all-arounders while George Izevkov, Evan Carpenter and Alan Javier Perez Bermudez each are junior specialists.

Fremd will be looking at a trio of all-arounders to carry much of the load for them this season. Joseph Ferlita, Yoshi Nakagawa and Lukas Sciuckas will be the main cogs. Newcomers Kody Tokunaga, Giovanni Pena and Andrey Shashkov will also be key contributors.

Hersey has a ton coming back and is looking to follow in the footsteps of their girls' team, which won the MSL conference this season. Nate Mabry, who was second in the state in the all-around leads the way along with all-arounders Drew Netolicky and Sergii Demianchuk. Specialists Ethan Travenio and Logan Reily give the Huskies some depth.

Hoffman Estates took home a fifth-place finish in the state last year. But the Hawks have an entirely new squad. Tony Franse and Yahir Jimenez-Avitia, Jayleon Johnson and Jake Weiland are senior all-arounders while Caden Leatherman is a junior and Isaac Bunay is a sophomore.

Leyden is looking for its third consecutive West Suburban Gold title. The Eagles return state qualifiers Joe Palomo and Leo Dragotta. Senior specialists Rodolfo Bahena and Kamil Bak along with senior all-arounder Daniel Taborsky should put Leyden on track.

Maine East will be looking to put the pieces together to challenge in the Central Suburban league. The Demons will count on Henry Morrison and Sean Urban, along with sophomores Abdul Rangoonwala, Jonas Kancleris and Temuujin Enkhbayar, to move them up this season.

Palatine is the defending state champion, but graduation and retirement have hit the team hard. Gone is longtime coach Scott Hagel along with the team's three top all-arounders. Senior Ivan Monay, who is an all-arounder, and senior specialist Ricardo Vital along with sophomore all-arounder Tanish Mittal lead the Pirates.

Prospect has qualified for the state finals the last two seasons. Nathan Stachyra, who qualified for state on the floor, will lead a team that will look to regroup after losing most of its team to graduation.

Rolling Meadows will be very young this season and doesn't have a senior on the squad. Juniors Ayden Steffler and Keith Koehler along with sophomores Lorenzo Koehler, Daniel Trinadad and Elijiah Barreiro will be carrying the banner for the team this season.

Schaumburg will be looking hard to improve from last season. The Saxons feature three seniors in all-arounders in James Monroe and Cole Radley along with specialist Adrian Le. The Saxons will also look to count on sophomore all-arounders Ricky Baisler and Keegan Creighton along with junior specialist Spencer Tunquist.

In Lake County, several teams will again be making a huge push toward state.

Libertyville will be looking for leadership from returning all-arounder Josh King to get the Wildcats going. All-arounders Avery Wells, Max Butler, Oscar Butler and Chris Benavides are new to the varsity squad and will need to step up quickly.

Mundelein is small, but they are hoping to be mighty. The Mustangs return all-arounder senior Holden Allsbury while Braeden Kratz, Elijah Raymond and Reese Miller will also be all-arounders.

Stevenson will be led again by Thor Mace, who was 20th in the all-around last year as a sophomore. Santiago Gonzalez is the lone senior for the Patriots who also have Finlay Oyston and Guy Gannon, and freshmen Eli and Elliot Haskell.