Scouting DuPage County girls gymnastics
Top teams: Downers Grove South, Glenbard West, Hinsdale Central, Neuqua Valley, Waubonsie Valley/Metea Valley co-op, Wheaton Warrenville co-op.
Top returning individuals: Abby Carlson (Downers Grove South, jr., all-arounder), Andrea Davenport (Downers Grove South, jr., all-arounder), Maddie Diab (Glenbard West, jr., all-arounder), Rose Fritz (Naperville Central, jr., all-arounder), Krasimira Ganeva (Glenbard East, sr., all-arounder), Katherine Hoban (Glenbard West, jr., all-arounder), Lily Jones (Hinsdale Central, sr., all-arounder), Jackie Kerth (Wheaton co-op, jr., bars, vault), Katie Kibbey (Glenbard South, jr., all-arounder), Amanda Leon (Hinsdale Central, sr., all-arounder), Melissa Martin (Waubonsie Valley/Metea Valley, sr., all-arounder), Claire McGurk (Glenbard West, jr., all-arounder), Olivia Nelson (Neuqua Valley, jr., all-arounder), Sierra Olson (Glenbard East, sr., all-arounder), Emma Ryan (Naperville North, so., all-arounder), Macy Smykal (Wheaton co-op, jr., all-arounder), Brooke Stocki (Downers Grove North, jr., all-arounder), Kylie Torsberg (Hinsdale Central, jr., all-arounder), Kelly Zehnder (Lake Park, sr., all-arounder).
Outlook: Addison Trail will need to replace some key scores from a team that eclipsed the 130 mark a season ago. "We have a young team, but we have a lot of grit," Blazers coach Kyle Padera said. "We are hoping to place in the upper echelon of (the West Suburban Silver) conference this year." Lauren Stamatopoulos, Maddie Rumps and Mikayla O'Donnell return while Alexis Theordore and Francesca Scarabaggio are two newcomers to watch.
Downers Grove North lost three key contributors to graduation from last year's team which took second in the West Suburban Silver, so the Trojans will look to rebuild behind junior Brooke Stocki, a state qualifier on beam last year. Sophomores Clare Webster and Lauren Lucina return while junior Lily Now and freshmen Mia Bowers, Gabriella Stellato and Kenna Cinotte join the squad. "We have our work cut out for us, but there is potential and drive in these young gymnasts," coach Linda Reynolds said.
Downers Grove South will look to rebuild after losing five seniors from last year's team as well as recover as junior all-arounder Abby Carlson returns from a knee injury. One of the biggest losses is Abby's older sister Kayla, who graduated, although Abby's return from injury is a huge gain. With Abby Carlson and Andrea Davenport as all-arounders and senior Lindsay Tom as a high-scoring multi-event specialist, the Mustangs should be competitive, although they'll need freshman Melina Pappas and senior Trudy Davis to fill-in some scoring.
Fenton will look to improve on last year's best score of 124.775. The Bison welcome back sophomores Emily Trzmielewski and Julianna Krebasch, junior Nicole Maciulewicz and senior Katrina Krebasch and add freshmen Audrey Benitez, Ola Czyzycki and Jacqueline Casas. All seven are capable as all-arounders, so coach Paula Parat has some flexibility.
Glenbard East is coming off one of its best seasons, finishing with a 139.85 in last year's Glenbard North sectional. The Rams will need to overcome the scoring and leadership loss of Veronika Srey, but they have most of the team back in action, including seniors Krasimira Ganeva and Breanna Page and juniors Sierra Olson and Sydney Nasternak.
Glenbard North is off to a rough start and hasn't even started competing yet. The Panthers have one returning varsity gymnast and junior Katie Blakeley is likely out until the end of January with an ankle injury and freshman Katie Wagner will be limited to a couple events until she recovers from an injury and becomes an all-arounder. Freshman Sarah Ozeki also joins the team. "The team does not have a lot of depth, but I am very excited about the new addition of Sarah and Katie," Panthers coach Kristin Nordquist said.
Glenbard South has its largest team in coach Lee Wood's tenure with a solid mix of returning gymnasts and up-and-coming newcomers, including freshmen Katie LaPierre and Aubrey Nardella, sophomore Karisma Danguilen and senior Emma Johnson. Juniors Mackenzie Goetz and Katie Kibbey and seniors Megan Jessen and Sarah Nardella all return. "I'm looking forward to seeing where they can go with this talent," Wood said.
Glenbard West will attempt to advance to the state finals for the third year in a row and with what coach Carlos Fuentes calls "a large influx of new athletes that will add talent, depth and big skills to an already impressive group," they have a great chance of returning and bringing home hardware. Junior Maddie Diab leads the way. She won state on bars last year and was the all-around, beam and vault state champion in 2016. Her sister Anna Diab is capable of posting similar scores so the Diabs could dominate. Another freshman, Caeley Johnson, is also new, while Katherine Hoban, Claire McGurk, Nina Samuta and Mikayla Benjamin all return. Fuentes also said juniors Maia Lee, Abby Myers and Taylor Ramirez are new to the team but are extremely talented and can post some big scores. The Hilltoppers have advanced to state in five of the last 10 years with a program-best fourth-place finish in 2016. They could top that and should be in a running for a state title.
Hinsdale Central finished with a 138.625 during last year's sectional and coach Kim Estoque believes the Red Devils will be even better. "Having 11 girls on varsity gives us a lot of depth," Estoque said. "I also have seven seniors who will be great leaders and mentors for the underclassmen." Those seniors include Amanda Leon and Lily Jones, among others. Freshman Kiara Harrast should be a fine addition to the mix as well.
Hinsdale South scored in the 120s last year and will look to increase their totals through the contributions of a veteran group. "We're a senior-heavy team that looks to build off of last season's success and advance more athletes in the state series," Hornets coach Jarrod Amolsch said. Seniors Kaitlin Hall, Kayla O'Donnell and Elizabeth Lowery return along with junior Sam Smith. Look for senior Alex Caruso and junior Zoe Legassie to step in and contribute.
Lake Park made a bit of a surprise run at the end of last season to advance to the state finals. The Lancers likely won't get there this winter due to some key losses from last year's roster. "Team advancement (to state) is probably unlikely this year, but I said the same thing last year, so we'll certainly try," Lancers coach Jake Luketin said. Senior Kelly Zehnder returns as the team's top all-arounder and senior Chloe Capuder as a top specialist. Look for freshman all-arounder Racquel Suhr to try to fill some of the scoring voids as well.
Naperville Central will likely start slow and build toward a strong finish, something that's become a standard over the years for the Redhawks. What they need to avoid is injuries or at least keep them to a minimum, a problem in recent seasons. All-arounders Rose Fritz, Haley Haumann, Maddie Surin and Joanna Huang return along with specialist Katie Petro and Caroline Bigott. Junior Lexi Swanson is a new addition to the team.
Naperville North will be young but talented. "Our goal is to learn to work together as a team to find success and to develop a culture of winning in the gym in order to improve our level of competitiveness and improve our overall team score," Huskies coach Chris Stanicek said. Senior Grace Ryan is the veteran of the group, although sophomore Emma Ryan and Chloe Tsao gained a lot of experience as freshmen last year as they stepped right in. The same is expected from newcomers Kelsey Sumser and Maggie Ryan.
Neuqua Valley's coaching carousel continues as the Wildcats welcome former Oswego co-op assistant coach Katie Novorolsky. The Wildcats receive a nice shot in the arm in a couple of talented freshmen, Jane Riehs and Baylee Modaff. Ries trained pre-elite for a while and competed at Level 10 before injuries proved to be too much. Modaff has a lot of club experience. Along with junior all-arounder Olivia Nelson, a state qualifier, as well as sophomore Ashley Flickinger, the team has four potential strong scores. "As long as we can keep everyone healthy I think we should do pretty well in (the DuPage Valley Conference)," Novorolsky said. "Advancing as a team to state will be difficult, but we definitely have some potential."
Waubonsie Valley/Metea Valley co-op has a smaller team but also a lot of talent. If it can stay healthy, it could be a big season for the team. "We have higher level skills than previous years," coach Phil Gilmer said. "Since we have smaller numbers we have more time to devote to individual training than before." If the team can stretch itself into the low 140s it could win a regional and maybe more. Seniors Ashley Buscher, Melissa Martin and Jessica Houghton, junior Marissa Cruz and sophomores Thera Bowen and Thalia Bowen all return.
Wheaton co-op has been on the cusp of qualifying for state the past few years, competing in sectionals four straight times, including 2015 when it fell just 0.725 of advancing to state. The bulk of the team returns from last year, including all-arounder Macy Smykal and high-scoring specialists Jackie Kerth and Caroline Gillis. The addition of sophomore Jamie Labue and freshman Emily Burnham should provide a nice boost as well. "Our goal is to score in the 140s at our first meet in December," coach Maureen Kermend said. "The girls have trained throughout the off-season and have set some pretty high goals for themselves."
Willowbrook might be the youngest team in the state. It welcomes six freshmen all-arounders. They'll look to contribute among a core comprised of junior specialist Autumn Palacious and sophomore all-arounders Melanie Huston and Karli Wilson. "These girls have a lot of potential within themselves," Warriors coach Deanna Zuchowski said. "If they can push themselves to perfection, we will have a good shot at a great competition come (West Suburban Gold meet) time." Zuchowski sees great team camaraderie on this year's team with seniors Damaries Garcia and Ashley VanBalen helping build that team relationship.
York received a bad break when junior Sydney Hill, team MVP a year ago, broke her arm practicing over the summer. She is out until next year and will take upon a role of a coach of sorts and cheerleader. "We haven't won a dual meet for the last few years, but I believe this year will be a much more competitive season for us within our conference," Dukes coach Anthony Colant said. "Our immediate goal is to break that losing streak and see where that can take us." Sophomore Megan Cronin and junior Olivia Romano return. Lailah Waddell and Haylee Williams will be asked to step in and contribute right away.
Top meets: Big Purple Invite at Downers Grove North, Dec. 2; Al Galatte Invite at Rolling Meadows, Dec. 2; Candy Cane Invite at Hersey, Dec. 9; Panther Invite at Oswego, Dec. 22; Naperville North Invite, Jan. 6; Neuqua Valley Invite, Jan. 13, York Invite, Jan. 20; DuPage Valley Conference championship at TBA, Jan. 26; West Suburban Conference Silver Division championship at Hinsdale Central, Jan. 27; West Suburban Conference Gold Division championship at Leyden, Jan. 27.