Prairie Ridge takes tops honors at Schaumburg

Prairie Ridge co-op senior Maddie Solka was looking to bounce back from a subpar girls gymnastics regional meet.

And she delivered.

Solka brushed off her regional performance that included three falls by taking first in the all-around (38.2) and powering Prairie Ridge co-op to the Schaumburg sectional title with 149.55 points.

Barrington took second with 144.95 points, followed by Fremd (144.60), Maine South (141.325), Hersey (140.1) and Palatine (138.1).

Prairie Ridge earned its fifth consecutive sectional title and became the first of four automatic qualifiers to advance to the girls gymnastics state meet Feb. 19-20 at Palatine High School.

There will also be four at-large bids given to the teams that compiled the highest team score without winning a sectional.

Barrington and Fremd have positioned themselves well to earn an at-large bid but will have to wait until the final sectional is completed on Thursday.

Solka set the tone for Prairie Ridge on Monday, taking first on the vault (9.8), tying for first on the bars (9.575) and floor (9.55) and adding a third-place finish on beam (9.275).

"I was lacking a bit of confidence at the regional meet," said Solka, a Cary-Grove student. "It felt good coming back and makes me feel like I can do it again."

"She's a tough kid," said Prairie Ridge co-op Coach Lee Battaglia of his senior standout. "I knew she would be back."

Solka set the tone, but she had plenty of help.

Junior Nikki Baars continued to impress, taking third in the all-around (37.925). She tied for first on bars (9.575), took second on beam (9.325), added a fourth-place finish on vault (9.6) and took fifth on floor (9.425) in an equally impressive performance.

Senor Kendall Rumford tied for third on beam (9.475) while junior freshman Maddie Kim contributed a fourth-place finish on bars (9.4).

Prairie Ridge co-op definitely made a statement with its sectional score. The defending state champions now have their eyes fixed on a second consecutive title.

"We just have so much more depth this year," said Solka. "If we do our job and hit, everything will fall into place."

Barrington senior Abby Hasanov also was in rare form on Monday.

The Fillies senior took first on beam (9.6), tied for first on floor (9.55) and added a second-place finish on vault (9.750) to finish second in the all-around (38.175).

Hasanov qualified for the state meet for the first time on beam.

"I've been working really hard in practice and I really enjoy the beam," said Hasanov, who was clean from start to finish on her routine. "I'm doing what I can do and I'm excited for the state series."

The Fillies are feeling optimistic about their score which was aided by senior Molly Blanke on vault (9.325) and junior Hayley Nilles on bars (9.1) and beam (8.875).

"We came here to score well," said Barrington coach Jason Loeffler. "We needed everybody tonight and every score counted. It definitely gives us a confidence boost."

Fremd was a bit shaky early but pulled it together by the end.

Sophomore Melanie Ng took fifth in the all-around (36.9). She added a third on bars (9.475) and tied for fifth on beam (9.2).

Senior Maggie Betti tied for fifth on bars (9.35) while senior Carly DeFilippo tied for sixth on vault (9.4).

DeFilippo also gave the Vikings a nice finale with a sixth-place finish on floor (9.4).

"I had the help of my teammates," said DeFilippo who had a clean floor performance to end the Vikings' night on a high note. "I felt pressure - but it was a good pressure."

"She completely knocked it out," said Fremd coach Elise Ference-Saisi of the floor performance.

Now the Viking are hoping to have another chance to show their skills.

"It wasn't our best meet but these girls can bounce back," Ference-Saisi said. "And I'm really proud of how each senior contributed in a big way tonight."

Conant's Melynda Meyrick continues to impress. The Cougars junior won the Mid-Suburban League all-around title and finished second in the all-around at her regional.

Meyrick kept it in gear on Monday, taking fourth in the all-around (37.525), after a third-place finish with aYurchenko layout on vault (9.7) and tying for third on the floor (9.475). She also had solid performances on the bars (9.2) and beam (9.15).

"My confidence is definitely growing," said Meyrick. "A meet like this helps. Now I just want to keep working on my little mistakes."

Rolling Meadows' Kelly Johnston also has found the right gear. The Mustangs senior took sixth in the all-around (36.65).

Johnston, the defending beam state champion, had recorded a fall on the beam in two consecutive meets entering the sectional. But the senior was clean on Monday and will enter the state meet with a bit of confidence.

"I've been shaky on the beam this year, so it felt nice to stay on it," said Johnston who also tied for sixth on the vault (9.4). "Now I'm ready to attack."

Sophomore Mackenzie Kamysz excelled for Hersey, tying for fifth on the beam (9.2) and earning a ninth-place finish in the all-around (35.70). Hersey junior Maggie Barton added a 10th-place finish in the all-around (35.65).

Junior Kara Ure paced Palatine by taking eighth in the all-around (35.725).

Maine West senior Marissa Grandei also had a big night, finishing seventh in the all-around (35.825), tying for an eighth-place finish on floor (9.325) and adding 10th-place finishes on vault (9.325) and beam (8.9).