Buffalo Grove’s Vasquez overcomes adversity

Buffalo Grove’s Julian Vasquez sat slumped in the upper corner of the Palatine gym last Saturday. The senior had just completed his floor routine at the state sectional meet and was disappointed by his performance.

“I was very worried,” Vasquez said. “There were a lot of higher scores coming out of the meet and I was worried that I wouldn’t qualify.”

Vasquez, who was 11th in the state last year on the floor, had come into this season with high expectations. An injury to his right foot sidelined the Bison specialist for three weeks. He had just returned to competition and was coming off one of his best performances of his career the previous week where he scored a 9.60 at the Mid-Suburban League meet.

But last Saturday, something just didn’t feel right when he began his floor competition.

“I just wasn’t as focused as I usually am,” Vasquez said. “And it showed on my first pass.”

Vasquez over-rotated on his first tumbling pass, forcing his feet to slide out from under him and he fell to the ground. Undaunted, he got up and completed his routine from there nearly flawlessly.

The judges originally scored him with an 8.95, which was later changed to a 9.05 when his coach Chris Stevens pointed out Vasquez had met a compulsory skill the judges thought was left out.

“That’s why we designed his routine like this,” Stevens said. “Just in case he crashed and burned, he would still be good enough to make it through to the finals.”

Stevens was correct, as Vasquez qualified as an at-large participant to Saturday’s individual finals at Lincoln-Way East in Frankfort. Vasquez will be one of 54 qualifiers on the floor that will be vying for one of the top 10 spots in Saturday evening’s finals.

“This is what I have worked for all year,” Vasquez said. “That’s why I was so upset earlier. I thought I may have missed my chance.”

Vasquez came out for gymnastics in his freshman year. He was one of those rare gymnasts who never participated in the sport, yet was able to succeed in high school.

“I knew the first time I saw him he had talent,” Stevens said. “He could jump better than most seasoned gymnasts and he had a desire to learn all he could about the sport.”

Stevens says Vasquez attended every open gym possible at Buffalo Grove and surrounding private clubs.

“He has tremendous dedication to the sport,” Stevens said. “Gymnastics is about performing and showing off what you can do. Javier loves to do that.”

So much so that Vasquez watches film. Not just of himself, but of other gymnasts competing on the floor.

“I want to see what other people can do so I can try it,” Vasquez said. “I just want to be better.”

Vasquez and Stevens have a deal for Saturday morning’s qualifying round. Vasquez will perform the floor routine Stevens has designed for him. But if Vasquez makes it to the finals, he has his own routine ready to go with Stevens blessing.

“I see myself doing my routine,” Vasquez said. “That’s what I was thinking about at Palatine when I was sitting there.”