Prairie Ridge, Madden all-around successes
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 at Fremd High School in Palatine on Monday.
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 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) and leading Fremd to second place with 149.525 points.
“Those two stepped up and the rest of the team fed off them,” said Fremd coach Elise Ference of the Vikings’ opening salvo. “We have some mistakes to eliminate, but we’re headed in the right direction.”
Fremd’s mark puts the Vikings in good position to qualify for its 21st consecutive state meet.
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 bars (9.425).
“I have never hit a meet this good,” said Madden of her all-around performance. “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 nearly perfect in taking first on 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.”