Stevenson Patriots start strong

Stevenson chalked up a nice score to start the girls gymnastics season.

How nice?

How about a 146.45?

"I'm completely satisfied with that score," coach Judy Harwood said.

The Patriots took second in state last February and return several athletes, so perhaps their strong start against host Vernon Hills (86.9) on Wednesday night was no surprise.

"We didn't put in our best lineup," Harwood said. "We put in experimental routines. Not everyone hit their routines. It's a fine score to start with and we can build from that."

With a full lineup and all their routines in place, the Patriots could hit 150 this season.

Senior Shana Manning was the only Stevenson all-arounder against Vernon Hills and totaled a 36.2. She tied for first with teammate Caitlin Pagano on bars (9.4).

Senior Stephanie Wojton placed first on the beam with a 9.1. Senior Chelsea Seplowin hit a Yurchenko on vault, earning a 9.7 for first place. She also won the floor exercise with a 9.4.

The Patriots had a couple of freshmen who did well in their opening meet.

Theresa Wojton (Stephanie's kid sister) and Ali Castriano both scored 9.2s on bars. Wojton was second on both vault (9.5) and beam (8.9).

"Bars is my favorite event," Theresa Wojton said. "I also had a good vault, hitting the Yurchenko pike. I've been working all summer trying to stick and hit it."

Castriano finished third on beam (8.75).

Vernon Hills started out with one of its youngest teams for an opening meet.

"We're young and very new," Vernon Hills coach Denise Caton said. "We're in the beginning stages and we're gradually working our way up. The nice thing is that we won't have many girls graduating for a couple of years and maybe we can build from here.

"A lot of the things they're learning is new for them."

BG d. Conant: There was a moment during the floor exercise routine where Buffalo Grove's Linda Dunne seemed a bit lost.

But the junior was a guiding force for the Bison for the majority of Wednesday evening.

Dunne was in rare form all night, including notching a career best in winning the beam (9.65) and leading Buffalo Grove to 134.40-115.90 opening night Mid-Suburban League girls gymnastics crossover victory at Conant.

BG was missing senior Reiko Akiyoshi, but the Bison and Dunne didn't miss a beat.

"She had a solid first meet," said BG coach Stephanie Schrader of Dunne, who has been a state qualifier the past two seasons. "Definitely things we can work on, but I'm happy with where we started."

Dunne won the all-around, scoring a 37.2 by sweeping all four individual events. The junior won the bars (9.05), the vault (9.5), and floor (9.0).

But it was the beam that stood out. Dunne wobbled a bit during her routine but never fell then nailed a gainer full dismount to cap a stunning performance.

- Michael Eaken