Naperville North's Robert finishes strong

It wasn't the start Michaela Robert was hoping for during her final high school girls gymnastics invite.

The Naperville North senior made some uncharacteristic mistakes during her beam routine and only scored a 7.65 during Saturday's York Invite in Elmhurst.

Fortunately, she didn't let the mediocre start affect her the rest of the way. She responded by winning the floor with a 9.575, as well as the vault with a 9.425 and bars with a 9.45 to capture the all-around title with a 36.1.

"I was really happy with how today went," she said. "I was a little worried that things started off that way with beam, but I was happy to then start fresh on floor and carrying that forward for the rest of the meet."

As a four-year varsity gymnast, Robert is trying to soak up every moment before the season ends next month.

"It's bittersweet that this was my last invite," she said. "But I definitely feel good about it and now can get ready for the (DuPage Valley Conference meet). There's still some areas where I need to fix things in practice, like beam, where I hope to be more consistent."

Lincoln-Way co-op won with 141.025 points, while Glenbard West was runner-up with a 138.8 and Lake Park was third with a 137.85.

Sarah DeStefano paced the Hilltoppers by taking fourth in the all-around with a 35.025, and Allison Oakes earned an 8.85 on beam and 9.2 on floor and Amber Broucek scored an 8.95 on bars.

"We had very few misses. We were basically 18 out of 20, and that's the kind of ratio we want to have at this time of year," Glenbard West coach Carlos Fuentes said. "Amber tweaked her Achilles, so she only did bars and beam and did a nice job for us."

Fuentes believes his team is peaking at the right time.

"Last year we made our push around this time and now they're putting themselves in a really good position for conference and then hosting a regional," he said. "The girls are motivated and it shows in their gymnastics."

Kelly Zehnder took third in the all-around with a 35.25 to lead Lake Park, which posted a season-best team total. Chelsey Aguilar added an 8.825 on bars and Marissa DiBendetto had an 8.975 on vault and tied for third on beam with an 8.85 for the Lancers.

"I think we did well and we've improved a lot and still have a little more to add in," Lake Park coach Jake Luketin said. "We feel good about our performance, and we should feel ready for conference."

Bridget Shanahan took sixth in the all-around with a 34.3 to help Conant place fourth with a 134.375. She also tied Waubonsie Valley/Metea Valley co-op's Morgan Powell for first place on beam with an 8.975.

Claire Samojedny also had a big day for Waubonsie Valley/Metea Valley co-op as she took fourth on vault with a 9.175 and was seventh in the all-around with a 34.15.

"We had some nice beam sets, which was nice because we had a lot of falls last week," Waubonsie Valley/Metea Valley co-op coach Sarah Thompson said. "Our floor sets were also pretty nice too. We threw some new skills in there, some requirements were added so that always helps bump up the score a bit."

The Valley co-op was edged by Neuqua Valley, 131.95 to 130.875 to place sixth and seventh, respectively.

Isis Ruff, who took eighth in the all-around with a 33.95, led the Wildcats. Teammate Emily Jacobs was sixth on beam, earning a 8.675 that would certainly make Tommy Tutone smile and sing.

Naperville North placed ninth with 126.575 points.