Girls gymnastics: Prairie Ridge overtakes Carmel to take state title

The battle for the first-place IHSA girls state gymnastics trophy was a close one Saturday afternoon at Palatine High School.

And while Carmel Catholic held a brief lead early in the final round, it was Prairie Ridge co-op that captured the championship by a narrow 145.8 to 145.475 score over the runner-up Corsairs.

Downers Grove co-op edged Lake Park 143.95 to 143.325 for the third-place trophy as Downers Grove junior Edith Condon took home the state balance beam title with a 9.45.

Prairie Ridge held a 0.175-point lead over Carmel heading into the finals and they added .40 points to its score in the finals to .25 points for the Corsairs to capture their sixth state title in school history.

Prairie Ridge junior Bryleigh Cooper took second in the state on balance beam (9.375), third on floor exercise (9.425), and seventh on vault (9.425). Junior Nora Terhaar took third in the all-around on Friday before taking third in the vault finals (9.575), and fifth on floor (9.3). Junior Tess Morton took ninth on uneven bars and 10th on floor for the Wolves.

"Those three juniors are great leaders for the team, they work hard day in and day out, and they lift the team up," said Prairie Ridge coach Alexis Redmond. "They've been sick all week, and they showed up ready and pulled it through for us."

After winning the state uneven bars crown last year, Terhaar placed eighth on that event after taking a fall.

"We've been working so hard for this all year, I'm just so extremely proud of everyone and we just gave it our all so I couldn't ask for any more," said Terhaar. "I was a little disappointed in my bar performance today, I really wanted to catch that Jaeger, but it's OK."

With only two competitors in the finals compared to eight in the finals for Prairie Ridge it was going to be next to impossible for Carmel to take first place. But the Corsairs got a second from Alyssah Arends on vault (9.6), and a fifth from Maddie Doyle on vault (9.5).

"So many girls came together to pull through and give us a chance for a trophy," said Carmel coach Sarah Mikrut Doyle. "I'm so proud of the way they put the pieces together to get the maximum amount out of each girl's talents, and our two juniors stepped up with their best performances yesterday."

Downers Grove junior Caroline Phillip placed fifth in the all-around Friday before she tied for third on uneven bars (9.4), tied for third on uneven bars (9.4), and took eighth on floor. Freshman teammate Avery Perrone tied for eighth on vault (9.4).

"Our goal all year was to get a trophy and we did just that so our seniors have four trophies," said Downers Grove coach Kristyn Campos, whose team won the 2025 state title. "We were battling illness so we were just looking to do the best we could and they were able to perform at a really high level."

Lake Park coach Jake Luketin was named Coach of the Year, and his squad had to fight through many key injuries on the way to fourth place.

"It's been an outstanding season, the girls have done a great job working hard, and they were able to hold onto fourth place despite the injuries," said Luketin, whose team got an 11th from freshman Annabella Suchan in the all-around. "Mikayla Gnutek tore her ACL at regionals on floor exercise and she was one of our best scorer's on balance beam. Downers Grove did a great job to take third."

Palatine's Jolee Waddington was named Senior Gymnast in the year after winning the all-around competition with a school record 38.55 points on Saturday. Waddington followed up that performance with a school record first-place 9.8 on vault, and a first-place 9.675 on uneven bars. She also took third on beam (9.35), and fourth on floor (9.375).

"I trained hard for this, and I'm happy to perform in my home town so that was my favorite part," said Waddington, who will play soccer at Eastern Michigan next year. "It was really cool (to set the school records) because my Mom, my Aunt, and sister all went to school here."

Geneva senior Reese Lackey won the floor exercise title with a 9.6 to edge Mundelein senior Lexie Ede (9.525) in second.

"I'm so excited, it feels surreal," said Lackey after taking first place on floor with a fantastic finish to her routine. "It was an incredible experience, and the state meet is always a lot of fun."

Vernon Hills junior Mya Brusso placed second in the all-around, second on uneven bars, sixth on beam, and sixth on vault to close out a great weekend. Stevenson sophomore Hazal Sevinc tied for third on uneven bars (9.4).

"I'm just happy I was able to do my best and I had my teammates cheering for me," said Sevinc. "It's definitely a really great honor, and I never thought I would be able to take third."

Ede placed fourth on vault (9.525) and she tied for fourth on beam (9.15). Warren's Nora Werner placed fifth on uneven bars (9.3). Glenbard West's Nicole Sienkiewicz placed seventh on uneven bars while Conant's Julia Shulman placed 10th on vault.

Wheaton Co-op's Jacqueline Phanthavong took ninth on beam and ninth on floor while Maine South's Maya Raczynski placed 11th on vault. Hersey sophomore Maria Reyes (12th in all-around) was not at 100 percent strength this weekend due to injury, and she was held out of the floor exercise finals.