Schaumburg nails down Larkin Invite title

Ashley Miller, like any freshman, struggled at times for Schaumburg's gymnastic team last season.

But the sophomore has shifted into high gear this season and it showed on Saturday at the 26th annual Larkin Invitational.

Miller took first in the all-around (37.425) in propelling Schaumburg to the title with a season high 139.175 points in 15-team field in Elgin.

Neuqua Valley took second with 137.725 points, followed by defending champion Batavia (134.53 points), South Elgin/Bartlett/Streamwood co-op (133.775 points), and Geneva (132.525 points).

Miller nailed her bar routine in taking first with a mark of 9.6, adding a third-place finish on the beam (9.275), and fourth place finish on the floor (9.30).

"Last year as a freshman she didn't have confidence in knowing what high school gymnastics is about," said Schaumburg coach Jami Stilling of Miller's debut season. "Now she has really come out to perform."

And it showed specifically on the bars, where the sophomore had a fall at Tuesday's Maine West Invite, but recovered with a clean routine on Saturday.

"Once I got my new skills down my confidence has soared," said Miller, who also took ninth on the vault (9.250). "I know I can hit them because I've been working on them all summer."

Schaumburg soared on the beam on Saturday in nailing down the title by scoring a meet best 36.250. Junior Brooke Shimon took first individually on the beam (9.350), with Miller and junior Caitlin Barrett (9.025) aiding the Saxons' charge.

"We knew we were at the point where we had to hit beam," said Shimon of the Saxons' final rotation. "It was the cherry on top of everything."

The Saxons also took first as a team on the bars (34.450) and second as a team on the floor (34.250) in a sterling performance.

"We took one event at a time and to win on the beam is pretty cool," added Stilling, "I think it is great to go into the second half of the season with that confidence, still knowing we have a lot to put in."

Jordyn and Abby Madden also came out firing on all cylinders for St. Edward.

Freshman Abby Madden took second in the all-around (37.40), taking first on the vault (9.45), second on the floor (9.5), and fourth on both the bars (9.2) and beam (9.25).

Sophomore Jordyn Madden took fourth in the all-around (36.925), taking second on both the bars (9.4) and beam (9.30).

"When they have their high level routine it's not a matter of adding difficulty," said St. Edward coach Doug Bucholz of the powerful sister tandem. "It's a matter of holding onto what they have."

And the sister duo did a fine job of that on Saturday. Jordyn, a state finalist in vault last season, has upped her game this season and has the support of her sister.

"I'm a lot more comfortable, especially with Abby being here," said Jordyn who was slowed a bit on Saturday by a sore right knee. "If she does good I want to do good."

And Abby did just fine on Saturday with a stunning floor and vault performance.

"It gave me a lot of confidence," added Abby of her performance. "We're happy for each other, if Jordyn does something, I want to do the same thing as her."

Khrystyna Lychagina also seems to be on a mission this season for Leyden. The senior was a state qualifier her first two years before missing the state meet last season.

But Lychagina seems to be on a collision course for the state meet this season, as the senior took third in the all-around (37.0), taking first on the floor (9.7) third on the bars (9.25), and fourth on the vault (9.375).

"I have a really good feeling for this year," said Lychagina, who battled injuries last year. "I've been preparing myself for this season both mentally and physically-so far so good."

Junior Jenna Urbaniak also aided Leyden's attack by taking second place on the vault (9.425) helping the Eagles to a seventh-place finish.

Senior Catherine Miller took fifth in the all-around (35.55) in leading Neuqua Valley to a runner-up finish.

Miller also took fifth on the bars (9.15) and added a sixth-place finish on the beam (9.05).

"We've tried to keep it consistent, overall we're pretty solid," said Miller of the Wildcats' performance. " We're excited to keep it going, adding more skills to our routines and keep building."

Junior Morgan Knight added a fifth-place finish on vault (9.35) helping the Wildcats take first in that event as a team with 36.275.

"Normally it is not one of our stronger events, but we did great," added Miller of the Wildcats' vault performance. "Morgan (Knight) and Ashley (Nelson) came through."

Last year Batavia won the Larkin Invite, but the Bulldogs lost 4 of their 7 varsity members from last season state qualifying team. But senior Danea Fuqua and junior Emma Gear have stepped up for the Bulldogs this season.

Fuqua took fifth on the floor (9.255) and tied for sixth on the vault (9.3), while Gear added an eighth-place finish on the vault (9.275) to propel the Bulldogs to third place on Saturday.

"Those have been my two strongest events the last two weeks," added Fuqua of the floor and vault. "I'm pretty confident with those two, and I'm working on my confidence on the other two."

The Bulldogs' performance had coach Taryn Boyce feeling confident about the second half of the season.

"We had a rough start at the beginning of the season," added Boyce, "but the girls are coming together. It's looking really good right now, we just have to clean up some of our falls and hit our routines."

South Elgin/Bartlett/Streamwood co-op continues to build momentum, with senior Emily Potts taking eighth in the all-around (35.30), adding a fifth-place finish on the beam (9.10) and a sixth-place finish on the vault (9.3).

Taeopae Wetterman added an eighth-place finish on the beam (8.8) and ninth on the floor (9.025), with Kristell Westbrook taking sixth on the bars (9.050).

"We are doing a lot better than when we started," said Potts of her team's momentum. "I think that is important to keep improving each meet. We're definitely showing that."

Geneva is also starting to make some noise. Junior Emily Ott took third on the floor (9.35) leading the Vikings to first place in that event with a mark of 35.00.

Sophomore Nicole Badofsky took seventh for Mundelein on the bars (8.85) and junior Ashley Horne took ninth for host Elgin/Larkin co-op on the beam (8.775).