Hersey savors sweet victory
Expectations are rising for Hersey’s girls gymnastics team, and the Huskies offered a glimpse of their potential on Saturday at the Michael Meyer Memorial Candy Cane Invite.
Sophomore Alysa Zurlo (35.575) and senior Anne Johnson (35.4) went 4-5 in the all-around in leading host Hersey to the title with 137.8 points at the 12-team invite in Arlington Heights.
It was the Huskies’ first win at their own invite since 2002.
“It’s a huge day,” said Hersey first-year coach Shannon Barrett. “They hit their routines. Today was their meet. They knew they could come in and win this, they just needed to hit — and that’s what they did.”
Junior McKenzie Kehr took first in the all-around (36.7), adding a first on the floor (9.3) and bars (9.4) and taking second on vault (9.45) in leading Mundelein to second place with 135.8 points.
“She had a rough start on beam, but then really stepped it up on the final three events,” said Mundelein coach Nancy Toland of Kehr’s performance. “Overall I think the girls are finally starting to realize their potential.”
Naperville North (134.325) took third, followed by seven time defending champion Glenbard North (130.94) and York (130.94).
Zurlo and Johnson pushed the attack for Hersey.
Johnson, a state qualifier last season on the bars, had only misstep, on beam (8.4). But she took second on bars (9.0), third on floor (9.0) and fourth on the vault (9.0).
“I’m definitely picking up where I left off last season,” said Johnson who is excited about the infusion of young talent on the Huskies’ roster. “It’s so exciting — we are all working off each other.”
Zurlo is one of those younger Huskies making an impact. On Saturday the sophomore took fourth on beam (9.2) and added a fifth-place finish on floor (8.925).
“We’re looking really good and we’ve been working hard,” said Zurlo. “I just wanted to focus today and do what I needed to do.”
Freshman Maggie Barton took 10th on the vault and freshman Ali Heidrich added an 11th-place finish on the floor.
Kehr, a two-time state qualifier, gave Mundelein a huge lift on Saturday. The Mustangs senior started slowly, taking 14th on the beam (8.55), but then came on strong in the final three events in securing the all-around title.
“I was feeling confident, especially on bars,” said Kehr, who capped her bar performance with a toe-front dismount. “As a team we need to clean some things up, but we are feeling stronger.”
Maya Nienaber added to Mundelein’s attack by taking fifth place on vault (8.95) and eighth place on bars (8.6) and all-around (34.5).
Junior Michaela Roberts gave Naperville North a nice lift by taking second in the all-around (36.5). Roberts took second on the floor (9.2), third on the vault (9.4), and added fifth-place finishes on bars (8.75) and beam (9.15).
“This year I’m a little more confident in all my events,” said Roberts, a two-time state qualifier. “I’m still looking for improvement, but we all finished really strong on the floor.”
Also adding to the Huskies’ attack was sophomore Anneli Kawaoka, who used a Yurchenko Pike in taking first on vault (9.5). She finished sixth in the all-around (35.275).
“She nailed that today, she came off the table really nice,” said Naperville North coach Chris Stanicek of Kawaoka’s vault.
Erika Climo also added to Naperville North’s attack by taking fourth on the floor (8.95) and adding a sixth-place finish on the beam (9.1).
“We have areas to work on,” said Stanicek of his team. “Bars hit us hard, but we came back strong on the floor.”
Anna Slater took third on beam (9.25) in helping Glenbard North secure fourth place.
York senior Meghan Davidson took fifth in the all-around (35.6) to pace the Dukes’ fifth-place team finish. She took sixth at state on the beam last year and flashed her skills once again on Saturday by taking first on the event (9.5).
“I’m shaking off the rust,” said Davidson of a performance that included some nice aerials. “I’m looking to get back on the podium at state again this year.”
Fenton senior Taylor Patton struggled on her first three events, but the Bison senior ended the meet with a bang, taking second on beam (9.35).
“I started off pretty shaky, but I pulled it together for beam,” said Patton of an effort that included a flawless back flip-flop. “I didn’t let the other events get to me and it felt good to hit on beam.”
Addison Trail’s Tamara Mendez took fourth on the bars (8.8) for the Blazers.