Confident Libertyville leads the way at Oldham Invite

The Libertyville girls gymnastics squad is starting to make believers out of everyone, including Wildcats coach John Taylor.

Libertyville took another step forward on Saturday in winning the 22th annual Oldham Invitational with 137.825 points, edging Prospect (137.70) and host Palatine (137.25).

South Elgin/Bartlett co-op (136.75) followed right behind in fourth place, with Naperville North (134.90) taking fifth.

Wheeling senior Amy Burke took first in the all-around (36.525).

Burke was once again solid for Wheeling. The senior added to her all-around title by taking first on vault (9.575) and floor (9.325), with a second-place finish on beam (9.20).

Burke started the day slowly, finishing 13th on the bars, but the senior recovered nicely using a Yurchenko pike to secure the vault title, then polishing her execution in taking the floor title.

"I had a slow start," said Burke of her performance. "Right now I just want to get exposed as much as I can leading up to state, and then put it all together."

The Wildcats had a solid day, tying Palatine for first on floor (34.70) and taking third on vault (35.35) and beam (34.65).

"I knew they were good and I knew they were hard workers," said Taylor, in his first year coaching Libertyville. "It was a big shock to find out they have such drive."

Junior Leah Herchenbach led the Wildcats' charge by taking second on floor (9.375), fourth on bars (8.975) and fifth in the all-around (35.675).

Saturday's invite title was the second of the season for a young Libertyville squad and the Wildcats' confidence is on the rise.

"It's actually really surprising because we have such a young team," said Herchenbach, who was a state qualifier last season in the all-around, bars and beam. "We didn't have confidence early, but I think it's starting to build."

Sarah Chaitoff, one of three sophomores on the Wildcats' varsity, took fifth on the beam (8.95).

"I think the talent pool on this team is just so high," said Taylor. "We're good right now, but we're not great."

Prospect is also on the rise thanks in a large part to the progress of Lauren Johnson. The sophomore took first on beam (9.375), third on vault (9.325), and tied Glenbrook South's Nora Landri for third in the all-around (35.80).

"Lauren has totally matured and is way more confident," said Prospect coach Julian Basler. "I trust her to do what she says she's going to do. It's been awesome to watch."

The Knights continue to look solid on the beam and went 5-for-5 on Saturday, scoring a meet-best 35.075.

"We've been working on our form and staying on the beam," Johnson said. "We have a lot of people stepping up, and everything is coming together."

Katie Colmone has been limited to two events for Prospect. But the senior, who was a state qualifier last season on the vault, made the most of her opportunities by taking first on the bars (9.25).

"Everyone is picking up the slack, it's been a real team effort," said Colmone, who helped propel the Knights to the top mark on bars (34.425).

A young Palatine team also seems on the verge of a major breakthrough. Freshman Nicole Kuksuk took fifth on vault (9.225) and freshman Abby Alden added a fifth-place finish on the bars (8.9).

"It was such a close meet today," said Kuksuk. "We just need to work on cleaning up the little things and putting it all together at the right time."

Palatine tied Libertyville for first on floor (34.70) and finished second on the vault (35.45) and bars (33.925).

"The difficulty's there, we just have to hit when it counts," said Palatine coach Terry Theobald of the Pirates' routines. "It's going to be a good deal down the road."

Senior Emily Potts continued her strong start for South Elgin/Bartlett co-op by finishing second in the all-around (36.125) and adding a second on vault (9.5), fourth on beam (9.05) and a pair of sixth-place finishes on bars (8.825) and floor (8.75).

"I think it was good, I hit everything with no major falls," said Potts, who was a state qualifier last season in the all-around and bars. "That is what I was looking for - clean routines. Now we can go back to working on them and making them harder."

Potts had help as junior Taeopae Wetterman took fourth on the vault (9.3) and fifth on the floor (8.775). Wetterman has recovered from a foot injury suffered last season to give South Elgin/Bartlett a powerful 1-2 punch.

"The whole team is adding difficulty and they're hitting them," said South Elgin/Bartlett coach Amy August, whose team took first overall on the vault (36.15). "I expect to see a huge jump in scores very soon."

Naperville North got off to a slow start but made a nice recovery on the beam, with senior Carolyn Filarski taking third on the beam (9.15).

Kayla Kinder added a third-place finish for the Huskies on the bars (9.0).

"We had a tough meet but we still have a lot of potential," said Filarski. "I'm feeling solid on the beam and plan on adding to it."