Scouting DuPage County girls gymnastics
Top teams: Downers Grove South, Glenbard North, Glenbard West, Lake Park, Wheaton Warrenville co-op.
Top returning individuals: Amber Broucek (Glenbard West, jr., all-around), Linnae Capuder (Lake Park, sr., all-around), Sarah DeStefano (Glenbard West, jr., all-around), Annalise Donati (Lake Park, sr., all-around), Emily Jacobs (Neuqua Valley, sr., all-around), Isis Ruff (Neuqua Valley, sr., all-around), Marianna Georgiou (Waubonsie Valley/Metea Valley co-op, sr., all-around), Lenna Klein (Wheaton Warrenville co-op, sr., all-around), Bella Marzari (Downers Grove South, sr., all-around), Katie McDonald (Wheaton Warrenville co-op, sr., vault, beam), Kennedy O'Neill (Addison Trail, so., all-around), Michaela Robert (Naperville North, sr., all-around), Katie Rumel (Glenbard South, sr., all-around), Jill Schuberth (Naperville Central, jr., all-around), Maddie Seseman (Hinsdale Central, sr., all-around), Veronika Srey (Glenbard East, so., all-around), Emily Tom (Downers Grove South, jr., all-around), Allison Wahrman (Glenbard North, jr., all-around).
Outlook: Addison Trail expects to have a good year with a lot of talent returning, including sophomores Kennedy O'Neill, Terra Garcia and Jessica Rosal, as well as senior Casey Boksha. "We have a good group that work really well together and they push each other where they need to be," Blazers coach Brandi Kissee said. "As a team, we have some work to do and may not make it (to state) this year, but I am confident we will have some individuals make it to state this year for a second time."
Downers Grove North should be a fun team to watch. The Trojans are very young and only have a roster of eight, but they're talented. Freshman Alyssa Alberti and sophomores Nicolet Christensen and Becky Donnelly could become fixtures for the next few years.
Downers Grove South has been on the rise and that should continue this year. All-arounders Bella Marzari, Emily Tom and Paige Vondrasek all return from a team that hit 137.525 at last year's Lincoln-Way East regional and advanced to sectionals as an at-large team. "This group has the potential to be successful as a unit and individually," coach Kristyn Campos said. "The girls are really close and push each other to do their best."
Glenbard East was led by freshman Veronika Srey last season. She's back again this year, while seniors Jackie Musial and Olivia Carone also return. Freshman Krasimira Ganeva is a key new addition. "We hope to hit as many routines as possible and get our score into the high 130s," coach Jessica Bugajsky said.
Glenbard North could be gearing up for a very special season. The Panthers not only return Allison Wahrman, Leah Roman, Anna Slater and Shayna Bott, but the team has added two former club athletes in sophomore Erin Bregman and Katie Murphy. They could have the talent to get to state for the first time since 2012. "I'm excited," Bregman said. "We should have a very good team this year."
Glenbard South is ready to go. "I can't wait to see where this team goes," Raiders coach Lee Wood said. "This should be one of our best starts we have had to a season since I've been head coach here. I am very excited." Senior Kate Rumel is a three-time sectional qualifier and she has her eyes set on her first state berth. Junior Stephanie Mondragon and incoming freshman Michelle Glover should give the Raiders three solid all-around scores.
Glenbard West has a young team still, but several of its gymnasts have experience from the past two seasons with juniors Amber Broucek, Sarah DeStefano, Mia Connolly and Amanda Rosch all returning, along with sophomores Cailey Cranny and Kylie Lach. "The team has a tremendous work ethic in the gym and is on the cusp of adding several new skills," Hilltoppers coach Carlos Fuentes said. "Look for us to make a big push near midseason." A couple JV promotion seniors, as well as sophomore Alison Oakes and freshman Kendall Rewerts, are new to the team this year.
Hinsdale Central has remained competitive year in and year out but hasn't enjoy a trip to state since doing so three straight years in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The Red Devils don't return much this season other than senior Maddie Seseman but have a lot of promising newcomers who could rejuvenate things, especially a trio of freshmen, Lily Jones, Amanda Leon and Jenny Sims. Look for senior Brigid Cultra to step up as well.
Hinsdale South welcomes new coach Mia Tritch as well as the return of Maddie Nowak, who took last season off after a great freshman year. Nowak will be the one to make the biggest impact. The Hornets hope to "build back up our team and try to get the conference championship back," Tritch said. Senior Lauren Haney and junior Erica Meyer also return and freshman Kaitlin Hall is a key newcomer.
Lake Park hopes a mix of seniors and freshmen is a good one this winter. The Lancers have a chance at being pretty good with seniors Linnae Capuder, Rachel Fischer and Annalise Donati starting their final seasons, while four freshmen are just starting their first seasons, including's Linnae's sister, Chloe. "We're really young again, but we've got some big seniors coming back," Lake Park coach Jake Luketin said. "The freshmen came through the park district in Bloomingdale, so they'll give us some depth."
Naperville Central had a senior-laden team last year so they'll look much different this year. Junior Jill Schuberth placed fifth in the state on beam last year. She's one of three gymnasts who return for the Redhawks. Freshman specialist Kaitlyn Petro and all-arounders Sam Barber and Sophia Heiser will be asked to step up to varsity and help complete the team scoring with Schuberth and senior returnees Lea Savard and Danielle Breeden.
Naperville North will look for great individual accomplishments from Michaela Robert as she looks to advance to state for the fourth time. She was 12th in the all-around last year. The team lost three state qualifiers - one to graduation and two who decided to return to club - so they'll be very young. "We need to focus in the moment and work on elevating the skill level of our new gymnasts and provide Michaela the opportunity to return to the state meet and improve on her performance," Huskies coach Chris Stanicek said.
Neuqua Valley lost two gymnasts who contributed consistent scores last year, but the Wildcats return a lot of experience with seniors Meghan Leshock, Emily Jacobs and Isis Ruff, as well as sophomore Colleen Moauro, expected to lead the way. "The beginning of the season is focused on finding gymnasts to pick up the slack," Wildcats coach Anthony Avella said. Freshman Karina Hiltenbrand and sophomore Shalinee Abraham will look to help out as new additions.
Waubonsie Valley/Metea Valley co-op will be very young but should be a lot of fun to watch. Senior Marianna Georgiou is the team's top returnee, but a variety of kids with club experience will need to fill in the holes for first-year coach Sarah Thompson, who comes from Andrew. Sophomore Claire Samojedny and senior Morgan Powerll are probably the top newcomers, but look for freshmen Ally Burke, Emma Holtan, Jessica Houghton and Taylor Schuch to contribute as well. "These kids are all new to high school gymnastics, so I don't know what their scores will be yet," Thompson said.
Wheaton Warrenville co-op was disappointed that it fell short of advancing to state last year, but with the bulk of last year's squad back again this year, such a trip to Palatine remains the team's ultimate goal. All-arounder Lenna Klein will lead the team while sectional-qualifiers Julie Galo, Laura Hughes and Katie McDonald will be key as well. Senior beam specialist Julia Locanto is also back. "We fell short of the (state) cutoff last year but are looking forward to another chance," Wheaton Warrenville coach Maureen Kermend said. "Although we lost Audrey Channon, we have some newcomers that will really strengthen out lineup." Juniors Petrina Chino and Sienea Thomas are two of those newcomers.
Willowbrook will continue to rebuild this year, although all-arounders Riley McFarlane and Gloria Johnson, as well as senior transfer Tamara Mendez, give the team a nice foundation. "Right now our goal is to keep our girls healthy," coach Annette Nocek said. "The season can be brutal and depending on three all-arounders is tough. We will take on one goal at a time and adjust our coaching accordingly."
York is the final team in the area that has a new coach as Tammy Henderson takes over a program in rebuild mode as none of this year's Dukes were on varsity last winter. "I expect that we will create a foundation that we will build upon as the years go on," Henderson said. York will rely on Maggie Thoele for leadership and all-around scoring. Freshman Maya Moran will be someone to watch, while sophomore Gillian Berg is returning to gymnastics after a one-year break.
Top meets: Big Purple Invite at Downers Grove North, Dec. 6; Al Galatte Invite at Rolling Meadows, Dec. 6; Candy Cane Invite at Hersey, Dec. 13; Illinois Best Invite at Wheaton Warrenville co-op, Dec. 20; Panther Invite at Oswego, Dec. 27; Naperville North Invite, Jan. 10; Neuqua Valley Invite, Jan. 17, York Invite, Jan. 24; DVC championship at Naperville Central, Jan. 30; WSC Silver championship at York, Jan. 31; UEC championship at Geneva, TBA.
- Chris Walker