Lococo, Carmel rise to the occasion

Every time she performs for Carmel Catholic's gymnastics team, Sammi Lococo is inspired.

Her heart was pounding Friday night, as her efforts helped put the Corsairs in position to finish in the top three in the state meet at Palatine.

Carmel is in third place with 146.775, trailing Prairie Ridge co-op (150.225) and DeKalb co-op (147.975). Saturday's finals begin at 5:45 p.m.

Lococo finished eighth in the all-around with a 37.475 in a tight field. Glenbard West's Maddie Diab was the all-around champion with a 38.2.

Lococo will compete vault, balance beam and floor Saturday night. For inspiration, she looks no further than her younger sister Dani, 13, who has Rett syndrome, which is a rare but severe brain disorder. About one in 10,000-15,000 girls will develop the condition.

"She's in a wheelchair and can walk with some help," Lococo said. "She inspires me a lot. Having Rett syndrome is like being trapped inside your body and not having anyway of expressing anything. With her always being happy, it inspires me to go out there and be happy and do my best."

Lococo made her way into the finals by placing third on beam (9.4), ninth on vault (9.475) and ninth on floor (9.5).

"It's all exciting and I hope I can bump up our team score a bit," Lococo said. "Our team has been focused this year. It's so nice having my family (team) here with me."

Carmel had one of its best meets, going 20 for 20 in all four events. Included was a 36.7 effort on beam. The Corsairs also earned a 37.475 on vault.

"It was electrifying," Carmel coach Nicole Stroup said. "The kids were solid on all the events. As a coach, you can't ask for more at this point of the season. I'm so proud of every single one of them for going up there fighting. The girls were confident. They didn't let the nerves get to them."

Mundelein's Meagen Kehr finished 10th in the all-around (37.025). She will compete in the finals on vault after placing ninth (9.475).

Warren's Teagon Albert will be making her first finals appearance, as she qualified eighth on floor (9.525).

"It's super exciting to get there," Albert said. "I'm really blessed. It's fun. I feel like I hit everything."