Kuksuk, Alden produce for Palatine
Palatine gymnasts Nicole Kuksuk and Abby Alden have practically grown up together in the gym.
The Pirates’ junior pair strutted its collective stuff on Wednesday night.
Kuksuk (36.2) and Alden (35.3) went 1-2 in the all-around in leading the host Pirates to a Mid-Suburban League West triangular victory with a season-best score of 140.45.
Barrington showed plenty of potential, taking second with 136.245 points, followed by Schaumburg at 133.
Kuksuk took first on vault (9.2) and bars (9.1), adding a second-place finish on the beam (9.3).
Alden tied for second on bars (8.7) and floor (9.1) and also tied for third on the vault (9.0).
“We’ve been doing club gymnastics since we were 2 years old,” said Kuksuk of her bond with Alden. “We just have good chemistry.”
“We definitely play off each other,” added Alden. “It works out well.”
And it worked out really well on Wednesday, as the rest of the Pirates followed the pair’s lead. Freshman Claudia Przystal tied for second on the bars (8.7) and also hit big on the floor (8.9), junior Megan Hedstrom tied for fourth on the floor (9.0), and senior Marissa Mallon is rounding back into form; she tied for fourth on bars (8.5).
Palatine hit 140.15 in its season-opening meet, and with the postseason quickly approaching, the Pirates were looking to get back that momentum.
“We’ve been adding a lot of new skill, and I think we wanted to kick it into high gear tonight,” said Kuksuk.
Barrington also had its moments on Wednesday, especially from sophomore Laine Leedstrom, who took first on beam (9.4). The sophomore has been coming on strong on the beam, and it certainly showed.
“I’ve been really working on my beam routine,” said Leedstrom, who nailed her back flip on her opening series. “When I stuck that, I knew I was on.”
The Fillies were also aided by freshman Jada Jones (9.05) who took second on the vault, and senior Tiffany Persels, who tied for third on vault (9.0).
Schaumburg got off to a shaky start on the beam, but the Saxons came back strong on floor. Senior Erin Barrett (9.25) took first on floor, with freshman Tarah Schomer (9.1) tying for second.
Barrett tied for third in the all-around (34.8) and tied for third with Schomer on the beam (8.6)
“We were fighting to stay on the beam,” said Barrett of the Saxons’ early struggles. “I think we came back strong on the floor, with each of us really hitting.”