Libertyville’s Breckenridge bows out in style
FRANKFORT — The 60th Annual boys gymnastics state meet turned out to be a great ending to the season for area athletes Saturday night at Lincoln-Way East.
And after jumping up from an 18th-place tie in the state all-around last season to a stunning third-place finish overall on Friday, Libertyville senior Craig Breckenridge put an exclamation point on his stellar career in the finals by tying for first place on floor exercise with Lincoln-Way co-op standout Ajani Cargle (9.65). Fremd junior Bobby Wongkamalasai also earned a top-five medal on floor exercise with a fourth-place 9.55.
The first round of the finals was a real exhibition by Breckenridge. He added a second-place 9.5 on pommel horse to finish just behind champion Doug Sullivan of West Aurora with a 9.55.
“I did exactly what I wanted to do, and to come in here to the finals and get first and second is just incredible,” said Breckenridge, who scored over 55 points in Saturday’s preliminary round. “Last year I fell a lot, but this year I only had one minor mistake on pommel horse so I’m really excited.”
Retiring Libertyville coach Curt Austin was able to see Breckenridge put on one of the best performances in school history Friday night and Saturday afternoon before Austin headed south to the University of Illinois to see his son Aaron graduate Saturday evening. Austin was the Wildcats’ head coach for the past 16 years and a two-time IHSA tumbling champion during his competitive career.
“He (Breckenridge) has just been really consistent in the gym, he knew exactly what needed to be done, and he really deserved to be on that podium,” said Libertyville assistant coach John Taylor. “He’s really grown up for the last couple of years with his form, execution, and skills, and he’s been extremely successful.”
The second round of the finals saw some more strong performances as Huntley junior Travis Navarro (9.45) tied for third place on vault to become the first boys gymnast in school history to earn a medal in the sport.
“I’m pretty happy — I know I did better this morning (with a 9.6), but it turned out well,” Navarro said. “It was a good experience doing this for the first time so we’ll see what happens next year.”
It was a tough overall weekend for Mundelein after taking seventh-place in the Elite Eight competition Friday night as senior Scott Marthinsen never fully recovered from a sprained wrist which caused him to miss much of the season. But Marthinsen did finish on a high note, placing fifth on vault with a 9.4 to take home a medal.
“After all of the years he’s gotten down here, Scott is finally an all-stater,” said Mundelein coach Jesse Piland, whose team won its own sectional last weekend. “He made the finals as a sophomore, junior, and senior, and it was awesome to see him do well even with all of the tape on him because of injuries.”
Breckenridge continued his medal push with a third-place 9.2 on the still rings finals to edge Rolling Meadows senior Marc Herff, who captured the fourth-place medal with a 9.05.
“I kind of messed up on pommel horse yesterday in the all-around, but I was happy to make finals today on pommel horse,” said Herff, who tied for 12th in the all-around and reached the finals in three events. “I was happy to take fourth place on still rings even though it wasn’t my best routine.”
Parallel bars was a great event overall for area gymnasts as Mundelein led the group with a fourth-place 9.25 followed by Breckenridge (9.2) and Herff, who tied for fifth. Breckenridge earned medals in all four of his finals events. Buffalo Grove’s Eugene Blackmon placed 10th with an 8.6.
“I’m really happy, and as a freshman just to experience state was really fun,” McCarthy said. “It was a rough season, but I eventually pulled through for a fourth place on parallel bars.”
Conant senior Steve Rink (8.8) tied for ninth on pommel horse in the finals with Elk Grove’s Damian Zukowski (8.6) placing ninth on high bar as the area’s only finalist on that event. Buffalo Grove’s Kyle Siebert (8.75) tied for 10th place on still rings while Elk Grove’s Nick Alcazar placed 10th on floor exercise with a 9.2.