Energized Fremd second at sectional

Fremd was looking to bounce back after its regional meet, and sophomore duo Sydney Plichta and Christine Radochonski set the tone for the Vikings on Monday.

Plichta opened by taking second on the beam (9.5), and Radochonski kept it flowing in the second rotation by taking third on the floor (9.55) in leading Fremd to second place at its own sectional with 146.225 points.

“Those two stepped up and the rest of the team fed off them,” said Fremd coach Elise Ference of the Vikings opening assault. “We have some mistakes to eliminate, but we’re headed in the right direction.”

Prairie Ridge co-op had three gymnasts finish in the top five for all-around as the Wolves cruised to their second consecutive sectional title with an impressive 149.525 in Palatine.

Prairie Ridge became the first of four sectional winners automatically qualifying for the girls gymnastic state meet on Feb. 15 and 16 at Palatine High School. Four at-large team that compile the highest team score without winning a sectional will also advance to the state meet. Fremd’s mark puts the Vikings in good position to qualifying for its 21st consecutive state meet.

Prospect took third with 142.275 points, followed by Conant (140.25), Palatine (139.475), and Barrington (138.375).

St. Edward senior Abby Madden went 4-for-4 in cruising to the all-around title with 37.95 points. Madden used a Yurchenko layout to take second on the vault (9.825), added fifth-place finishes on the beam (9.325) and floor (9.375) and tied for fifth on the bars (9.425).

“I have never hit a meet this good,” said Madden. “Hitting all four, it was perfect. I just concentrated on each event and it worked out.”

Sophomore Riley Mahoney (37.625), sophomore Jada Berkland (37.15), and sophomore Rachael Underwood (37.05) went 2-3-5 in the all-around to power Prairie Ridge.

Underwood had a fall on the floor and beam, but was near perfect in taking first on the vault (9.85) and bars (9.6).

“I wanted to redeem myself,” said Underwood of her two first place finishes. “We did well tonight, but there is still room for improvement.”

Mahoney added a first-place finish on the beam (9.525) and a fourth-place finish on vault (9.7), while freshman Maddie Solka took second on bars (9.575), and Berkland tied for fifth on bars (9.425).

Jacobs sophomore Allison Reidel took third on the opening vault (9.725), but the she ended the night by taking a hard fall on her right foot on her first pass on the floor.

“I came down really hard on the arch,” said Reidel who left the meet in a walking boot. “There’s swelling so we’ll have to see what happens.”

Fremd set the tone early, on the beam and floor, and the Vikings didn’t let up on the vault with junior Christine Jensen and senior Mary Smaga leading the way as they tied for ninth place with a 9.475. Emily Pinderski then gave the Viking a big lift on the bars (9.425) by tying for fifth place.

“We all feel good about our performance,” said Plichta who had a ninth-place finish on bars (9.225). “We just wanted to show it off tonight.”

“It was important to get off to a good start,” said Radochonski. “I still feel we haven’t hit our peak, and we can definitely improve. We just have to keep working hard.”

Prospect junior Gianna Scala came back from a fall on the beam to nail her floor routine, taking second with a 9.625. Scala tweaked her back last Tuesday and had not practiced all week, but ended the sectional night on a high note.

“My beam was uncharacteristic,” said Scala. “I knew I needed to finish strong. It was a stressful week.”

Prospect sophomore Maddie Larock took fourth on bars (9.475) to aid the Knights’ attack.

Elk Grove junior Amelia Rafferty got off to a blazing start in taking fourth in the all-around (37.125). She took first on floor (9.7), third on beam (9.45) and seventh on vault (9.525) in an impressive performance.

“It was my best floor routine of the season,” said Rafferty, who had a fall on the bars to end the night. “I hit beam to open and it definitely gave me some momentum.”

Palatine senior Abby Alden took fourth on bars (9.375) and added a sixth-place finish in the all-around to pace the Pirates.

“I just gave everything my all and it worked out,” said Alden. “I have become much more consistent this season and it feels amazing to be going back to state.”

Barrington freshman Abby Hasanov also impressed, taking third on bars (9.5), fourth on floor (9.4) and taking fifth on vault (9.675).

“The floor and vault are my best events and I wanted to have a good ending,” said Hasanov who had a fall on the beam in the second rotation.

Conant junior Meicie Bennett tied for ninth on the floor (9.2) and 10th on beam (8.975) to pace the Cougars.