Freshman helps Glenbard West repeat
It takes an influx of talent for a high school gymnastics team to achieve greatness year after year.
Add freshman Mackenzie O’Keefe as the newest Hilltopper to lead the Glenbard West to another outstanding achievement.
O’Keefe finished third in the all-around with an even-36 on Saturday afternoon to lead defending champion Glenbard West to victory in the annual York Invite in Elmhurst.
O’Keefe also won bars with a 9.275.
“I thought I did good,” she said. “I thought we all did good as a team and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
Led by Becky Mladucky, last year’s Glenbard West squad had three key seniors to look to for big contributions. While replacing the three seniors was virtually impossible, the addition of O’Keefe, along with the leadership of veterans Nicole Pagor, Missy Guzman and Shauna Gialluisi, and up-and-comers Maggie Phillips and Abbie Garchitorena, has the Hilltoppers aiming for their third straight trip to state.
“Floor didn’t go exactly as planned but they went 5-for-5 on beam,” Hilltoppers coach Carlos Fuentes said. “They looked a little tired. They were waiting for a long time between bars and beam and then went directly from beam to floor.”
Guzman competed as an all-arounder for the first time this year, taking ninth place with a 35.1. The senior was asked to step up as Gialluisi sat out with an ankle injury. Garchitorena placed seventh in the all-around with a 35.35, Pagor was second on beam with a 9.175 and Phillips snagged fifth on bars with an 8.85.
Waubonsie Valley/Metea Valley co-op placed third with a 136.875. Elizabeth Brandenburg led the way, taking sixth in the all-around with a 35.425.
“It was a good meet for us. Our bars were pretty solid and our vault score was high,” Waubonsie/Metea coach Nicole Daly said. “But we had some issues on beam with a lot of wobbles and balance checks, and we need to fix our tumbling and dance series, so we’ve got that to work on for next week.”
Maddie Strick took second on bars for Waubonsie/Metea with a 9.15.
“My routine has been pretty consistent,” she said. “Last week I had my best routine and this one was pretty decent too.”
Conant took fifth place with a 136.05. Sarah Starzynski and Brie Bible finished 3-4 on beam with a 9.05 and 9.025, respectively.
Lake Park was right behind the Cougars with a 136.05. Jessica Lewis took fifth on floor with a 9.05 and Linnae Capuder was sixth on beam with an 8.7.
“The girls are improving and they worked hard all week in the gym,” Lancers coach Jake Luketin said. “It was good to see them hit routines and we only had two misses to count on beam the whole meet.”
Riley Wypiszenski led Neuqua Valley, scoring a 33.925 in the all-around to help the Wildcats take ninth place with 125.375.
Without standout freshman Michaela Robert — who is in the Honduras on a mission trip — Naperville North finished last among the 12-team field with a 122.375. Shelby Porter was the lone all-arounder for the Huskies, finishing with a 30.25.