Girls gymnastics: Stevenson nearly denies Lake Forest a third straight conference championship
Stevenson and Lake Forest went toe to toe the entire meet, but in the end the Scouts captured their third straight North Suburban Conference girls gymnastics title Thursday night over the Patriots at Libertyville.
Both teams were short-handed due to injuries, but Lake Forest finished strong on uneven bars to take home the championship by a 135.9 to 135.0 margin.
Lake Zurich placed third with 129.1 points followed by Mundelein (125.0) in fourth and Libertyville (122.45) in fifth.
Mundelein senior Lexie Ede was unstoppable on her way to the all-around crown with a personal-high 38.3 points to beat her previous best all-around score of 38.15 points. Stevenson's Kate Staub was the runner-up with 37.15 points, while Lake Zurich's Laila Shaf (33.4 points) placed fifth.
“I'm so proud of (Ede), I feel like in the gym we've been really pushing on numbers but also managing her pain,” said Mundelein coach Daniella Strauss. “I feel like her never truly being satisfied as an athlete really helps her because she always knows that she can get better.”
Ede took first place on all four events, including 9.7 marks on balance beam and floor, 9.55 on uneven bars and 9.35 on vault.
“I hit my beam routine and I think that is my favorite part of gymnastics because if I hit that event it helps me get through the rest of the meet,” said Ede, whose team is at the New Trier regional on Tuesday. “(The high score) definitely makes me feel confident going into the postseason hitting 4-for-4.”
Stevenson senior Elizabeth Garcia broke her foot in practice Wednesday and that cost the Patriots' team score 2-3 points, according to coach Judy Harwood.
“I'm very happy with them, they did very well, and they stepped up,” Harwood said. “(Staub) was tough, I thought floor exercise was her best event, and she did really well.”
Warren's Nora Werner took second on beam (9.55) and uneven bars (9.05) while Staub took second on vault (9.3). Lake Zurich's Parvana Gireesh (9.15) placed third on vault. The Bears' Natalia Skora placed seventh overall, while Gireesh (32.05) was eighth. Mundelein's Ella Kessel (31.9) placed ninth while Stevenson's Eva Lukhina (31.75) was 10th. Warren's Leah Arceo (31.0) placed 12th.
Sixth-place finishers were Stevenson's Jamie Knuth (8.75) on beam, Libertyville's Ella Cobb (8.65) on uneven bars, and Stevenson's Chloe Johnson (8.55) on floor.
“Our beam was not our best in this meet, but we're a young team and this team has the best team culture in the 10 years I've been at Lake Zurich,” said Lake Zurich coach Chelsie Grotelueschen. “Laila (Shaf) hit 4-for-4, and she had her season high on vault and all-around.”